T IS through the true enjoyment and thoughtful appreciation of food that one can experience a culture. The countless sights, sounds and smells of a bustling bazaar divulge much about a region's cuisine. A bazaar is a permanent marketplace or street of shops that offers an array of goods and services. By offering wines and foods from around the world, Andronico's is able to embody the experience of a "world bazaar."

The cuisine of a region is an ever-evolving entity. At its most basic level, the idea of "cuisine" can really be broken down into three fundamental physical entities: water, rock and soil. The piece of earth that a region occupies is of great significance. Spanish cuisine, for example, was influenced early on by the sheer desirability of the country's location; prime property sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea to the west and east, and Europe and Africa to the north and south. It was highly desirable land that was invaded and fought over, and the cuisine of today reveals Moorish, Greek, Celtic and Roman influences because of it.

In countries like Vietnam and the Italian region of Tuscany, the geographic qualities of the region have a more direct effect on cuisine. Marked with many inland waterways, and boasting a vast coastline, rice and fish are two readily available, highly valued Vietnamese dietary staples. In central Italy, the climate and soils of the land contribute to the famed simplicity of Tuscan cuisine; recipes showcase and celebrate the quality, freshness and uniqueness of the locally produced, homegrown ingredients. The cuisine of a region reveals much about its people. The diversity of Morocco, and its food, is the result of a century-spanning history in which it was at the center of civilization. The flavors and ingredients of Moroccan cuisine reflect the many different backgrounds of the people who passed through and inhabited it. The richness of India's culinary history is equally apparent. From the use of lentils dating back to 1500 B.C., to an introduction to

foods ranging from saffron to rose water, the cuisine of India tells a fascinating, multi-faceted story.

The food of a region celebrates heritage, honors traditions, and evolves over time. The cuisine of the American South utilizes ingredients of West Africa, and stems from lessons in food preparation and cooking learned from the American Indians, Spanish explorers, and Creoles. A little farther north, in Pennsylvania Dutch country, Americans of German descent, members of the Amish and Mennonite religious communities, and others, dine on hearty, flavorful foods that celebrate many Old World traditions, and the bounty of America. The Old World and the New World often come together in cuisine. Mole, the regional specialty of Oaxaca, Mexico, is a complexly layered sauce that blends ingredients used by the ancient civilizations of Central Mexico, including chiles, cocoa and tomatoes, with foods and flavors brought across the ocean from Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The best, most distinctive dishes of a region offer more than just a taste of place; they reveal a palatable look into the past, and an authentic, compelling impression of the present.