• A Marathon with Wine and Oysters: France’s Wildest Race

  What pairs best with a rich red wine from Bordeaux? As it turns out, a marathon...

• British Woman Reclaims Guinness World Record by Devouring a Burrito in 30 Seconds

  Leah Shutkever, 36, from Birmingham, already held 42 records when she set her latest world-best time. Her previous achievements include eating a Domino’s pizza in under a minute and polishing off an entire chocolate orange in just 57 seconds...

• Japanese Ice at $1.50 a Cube: The New Luxury Status Symbol at the World’s Best Bars

  In the historic Japanese city of Kanazawa, craftsmen carefully shape and carve enormous blocks of ice destined to chill Negronis in some of the world’s most fashionable bars, AFP reports...

• The Unappetizing Truth About Sushi: Scientists Find Parasites in 96% of Tuna

  If you were planning to order a sushi platter tonight, you may want to reconsider. A new study has found that tuna can be teeming with parasitic worms...

• Leonardo da Vinci as a Culinary Genius: What the Great Artist Ate, Cooked and Created in the Kitchen

  Imagine Leonardo da Vinci not standing in front of an easel in his workshop, but in a kitchen. Instead of a paintbrush, he has a knife; instead of a palette, a chopping board. Nearby lies a drawing of a mechanism designed to make a cook’s work easier, while Leonardo himself is jotting down unusual food combinations and creating his own recipes...

• Culinary Tourism Is on the Rise: Where to Travel for Unforgettable Food Experiences

  Food has long been one of the key factors influencing travelers’ choice of destination. According to various estimates, between 71% and 80% of tourists say local cuisine significantly influences their decision about where to travel, and for many, it has become a primary reason for taking a trip, Forbes reports...

• The Secrets of Tbilisi: Why Houston Chefs Traveled All the Way to Georgia in Search of the World’s Best Caviar

  On a journey to one of the world’s leading caviar producers, chefs Felipe Riccio and Austin Waiter of Houston-based Goodnight Hospitality discovered what truly sets good caviar apart from the genuinely exceptional, writes Robb Report...

• The Rise of the $100 Hot Dog: How Simple Street Food Is Turning Into Haute Cuisine

  Since its appearance, the hot dog has spent years carrying the reputation of lowbrow fast food—cheap, not the most healthy, and unpretentious. Lately, however, the humble frank is experiencing a genuine cultural renaissance. While some chefs are experimenting with international flavors, others are elevating the hot dog into the realm of haute cuisine—complete with matching price tags, writes the WSJ...

The Week has published a piece about Armenia.

"Walking among the modern high-rises and Soviet apartment blocks in Yerevan's orderly street grid, I detect hints of charred fat and wood smoke. It's an aroma I first encountered just after I crossed the border into Armenia. It saturated the minibus as we swerved through the rugged Caucasus Mountains toward the nation's capital. And it has dogged me since.

It is khorovats, the local barbecue, as heavy with tradition and culture as its counterpart in the American South. In Armenia, it's the taste of every family event — the grill, called a mangal, an expected guest itself. The ability to afford khorovats a few times a month is considered a mark of comfort. There's even a song played when the meat platter is brought into a party," author Albert Stumm noted. "Though the word means anything grilled, khorovats implies pork — chops and ribs — roasted over a fire using flat skewers called shampurs. The meat is simply seasoned: salt, pepper, chopped onions, maybe paprika and a dried local herb such as tsitron, similar to oregano. Liquid marinades are less traditional, but these days young people get more creative."

"I'm thinking about doing pomegranate and basil, but my dad says that will ruin it," says Arpine Yesayan, his guide from the Envoy Hostel in Yerevan.

Stumm also described his experience in the village of Chinchin.

"The town is only 100 miles away, but the journey takes four hours of bumping along pot-holed roads, our ears popping as we wind through mountainous scrubland and cleared landslides. Along the way, we stop at a bakery on the shore of Lake Sevan to pick up several pounds of lavash — an ancient, ubiquitous flatbread — and a selection of layer cakes and gooey baklava."

Follow NEWS.am STYLE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram