Food

‘The Four Top’: Competitive Culinary Tourism | Eating Under Embargo | Rum, From Cuba With Love

By Katherine Cole (OPB)
Portland, Oregon Jan. 16, 2017 4 p.m.
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Fresh fruit is on display at a market in Havana, Cuba, in this Jan. 21, 2013, file photo.

Fresh fruit is on display at a market in Havana, Cuba, in this Jan. 21, 2013, file photo.

Guillaume Baviere/Flickr

The 10th episode of 'The Four Top' centers on the subject of Cuba. Our pundits are Patrick Symmes, author of two books on Cuba and contributing editor at Outside Magazine; Robert Reid, National Geographic Travel's "Digital Nomad"; and returning panelist Jacob Grier, a policy wonk who also writes about cocktails.

These frequent travelers share the urge to Instagram the ideal culinary moment while on the road — particularly on an island nation that has only recently opened its borders to American tourists. But there is a disconnect between a visitor's Cuban dining experience and the food-deprived reality that Cuban citizens face in their everyday lives. What foods do Cuban residents really have access to, and will their diets improve as political tensions ease?

We close the show by kicking back with a taste of true Cuban rum, tracing the history of this politically charged beverage and exploring its various regional styles.


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THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:
THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:
THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR: