About
Welcome to Ferronlandia, I’m honored you’re here.
This is a place where you’ll find recommendations for good food, strong drinks and local specialties in various parts of the world. I promise I’ll spare you pretentious foodie lingo in return for your forgiveness of my occasional use of profanity. I’ll also share some ideas for fun things to do in between meals.
The Ferronlandia Story
When I lived in Mexico my host family of three bubbly sisters, one long-winded brother and a mom with a surprising pocket full of perverted jokes, gathered around the kitchen table for an evening snack every night. Maybe it was the Yucatan’s sweaty heat, maybe it was the amount of beer drinking that had taken over my life, maybe it was taking classes in Spanish all day, but sometimes I would completely space out amongst all the chatting and snacking. When I returned to earth my family would be laughing at me and say, “she’s gone to Ferronlandia!” and we’d go back to our quesadillas and dirty jokes.
Ferronlandia is about the experiences that gathering around a table can create. Some of my favorite and most meaningful travel memories have to do with a meal. Because it’s easy to learn about a place through food— it’s a way to dive in, to take risks, to develop an appreciation for something new and to start conversations. And often it’s imperfect. Like that time when my Chilean family tricked me into eating horse meat. Or when I told my new Turkish guy friends that I hated sweet drinks and they brought me a punch bowl with the sugar content of an amusement park (and sparklers on top!) I’m not obsessed with stars and ambiance, but I am with real stories and good food. On this site I’ll do my best to provide you with valid reasons to spend your precious money and time, useful information about prices and recommended dishes, and the story behind a restaurant, entrepreneur, chef or dish.
In short, I travel (or most of the time I stay state-side and I eat like I’m on vacation), I scope out good meals, and I share my discoveries with you in the hopes that you too can enjoy a local food culture to the fullest.
Thanks for reading.
-Ferron Salniker
Published Work:
All kinds of regular stories to make you hungry, SFWeekly
River’s End, Edible Marin & Wine Country Magazine
The Cheesemaker and Cafe Owner, Edible Marin & Wine Country Magazine
Land of Eggs & Butter, Edible Marin & Wine Country Magazine
Winter Warmers, Edible Marin & Wine Country Magazine
Flat Delicious, Edible Marin & Wine Country Magazine
My series Sabor Del Barrio explores Latin American food in the East Bay:
New Mexican in Old Oakland
Profile pic by Laila Bahman.
