Beth Reiber

1 week ago | mediafeed.org | Beth Reiber

I first visited Smitty’s Market, in Lockhart, Texas, about 15 years ago. Weaned on barbecue served up in the Kansas City area, I looked around for bottles of sauce, and, finding none, went up to the counter. I was quickly put in my place when handed a bottle of ketchup. My embarrassment could have been avoided had I first visited the Museum of BBQ, but that didn’t open until this year, when the world’s first museum dedicated to barbecue made its debut in Kansas City.

1 month ago | bethreiber.com | Beth Reiber

Anyone who knows me knows I would never travel to a renowned wine region without sampling the goods. But in Germany it’s worth exploring alcohol-free alternatives in Baden’s wine region, making it a good destination for travelers who don’t drink alcohol, are designated drivers, or are searching for destinations during Dry January. These include alcohol-free wine and semi-sparkling wine, the world’s first alcohol-free gin, and arguably Germany’s best mineral water. I sampled them all.

1 month ago | frommers.com | Beth Reiber

Home to more than 100 barbecue restaurants and the world’s largest barbecue competition, Kansas City, in the U.S. state of Missouri, now adds a barbecue museum to its menu. If you’ve ever wondered about the secret uses of rubs, sauces, and cooking techniques that result in succulent meats, the Museum of BBQ, a lighthearted diversion that opens in the Crown Center Shops mall on April 12, aims to inspire you to become the pitmaster of your own back yard.

2 months ago | mediafeed.org | Beth Reiber

There’s hardly an event or celebration in Okinawa, or even a gathering of friends, that doesn’t include awamori, Japan’s oldest distilled liquor. Everything from births and birthday parties to weddings and funerals are often commemorated with gifts of awamori. Because the distilled liquor, native to Okinawa, never goes bad and tastes better the older it gets, mature stock is often passed down and replenished from generation to generation. To me, that’s one of the most fascinating things about it.

Mar 3, 2025 | mediafeed.org | Beth Reiber

I was living in Tokyo in the 1980s when the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery came up with a new concept: shinrin-yoku, translated as “forest bathing.” The idea was to get people outdoors, an antidote to the swift changes that were replacing a rural, nature-oriented society with high-tech, fast-paced cities.