007 Food: A bowl of chile con queso and the enchiladas

Food: A bowl of chile con queso and the enchiladas
Bond book appearance: The Facts of Death (1998)
Experience of 007 Travelers: Self-made

"The menu featured a variety of Tex-Mex specialties. Leiter and Manuela ordered fajitas for two. The recommended that Bond try either the fajitas or the enchiladas. He chose the latter. As an appetizer, they shared a bowl of chile con queso - a hot cheese dip made from cheddar and American cheeses, red peppers, and roasted tomatoes. When the food arrived, Bond could hardly believe his eyes. It is said that everything is big in Texas, and that certainly applied to the food portions. The enormous enchiladas were hand-rolled corn tortillas stuffed with ground sirloin and topped with the restaurants special Tex-Mex sauce - a red chile sauce with chili meat - and then with melted cheese. On the side were refried pinto beans cooked with garlic and onions. The Mexican rice was mildly flavored with onions and tomatoes.

"All right, Felix, you win, Bond said after tasting the food. "This is good."" 

Raymond Benson: "The Facts of Death" (1998)

Appetizer: A bowl of chile con queso

Main food: The enchiladas

"The Facts of Death" Finnish cover

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007 Drink: Frozen margaritas made from silver tequila, squeezed lime juice and triple sec

Drink : Frozen margaritas made from silver tequila, squeezed lime juice and triple sec
Bond book appearance: The Facts of Death (1998)
Experience of 007 Travelers: Self-made

"Leiter had some pull with the manager, so they didn't have to wait the usual forty-five minutes before being shown to a table at a booth. A waiter placed a basket of hand-fried tortilla chips with fresh homemade salsa in front of them. The utensils were inside a wax-paper packet which read, "The silverware has been SANITIZED for your protection!" Leiter ordered two rounds of frozen margaritas, much to Bond's dismay. Made from silver tequila, squeezed lime juice, and triple sec, margaritas were a staple in Texas, and the frozen variety made a slushy beverage that Bond liked to call "a musical comedy drink." It was served in a salted wineglass with a lime wedge. When he tasted it, however, he was surprised by its satisfying flavor. It certainly went well with the hot salsa. Leiter and Bond were soon laughing and reminiscing about old times.

Raymond Benson: "The Facts of Death" (1998) 

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007 Food: Sushi breakfast

Food: Sushi breakfast
Bond book appearance: The Man with the Red Tattoo (2002)
Experience of 007 Travelers: Self-made

"She led Bond back through the busy market until they came to an outlying area that featured a few fresh sushi restaurants in rows of one-storey barrack-like buildings.

"Let's have a sushi breakfast," she suggested.

They went into the narrow place, which was about ten feet wide, and sat at the counter with several workers, still clad in rubber boots. Bond ordered several pieces of tuna, salmon and fish roe for them to share, along with a tekka-maki, a tuna roll wrapped in seaweed cut into six portions, and a kappa-maki, a roll stuffed with cucumber. Bond ordered extra wasabi to mix with the soy sauce, as he was not fond of raw fish. But he was willing to give it a go."

Raymond Benson: "The Man with the Red Tattoo" 

Sushi with "The Man with the Red Tattoo" Finnish edition

Six tekka-makis and six kappa-makis

Fish roe, tuna and salmon in their own bowls

Soy sauce and wasabi

Tekka-maki in bamboo mat, ready to be cut to six pieces

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007 Item: Ray-Ban Wayfarers sunglasses

007 Item: Ray-Ban Wayfarers sunglasses

007 Book appearance: "High Time to Kill" (1999)
007 Film appearance: "Licence to Kill" (1989). (Villain Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) wears Ray-Ban Wayfarers)

Robert Davi (Franz Sanchez)
wearing Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses in
"Licence to Kill" (1989)
Photo © EON, United Artists, Danjaq LLC

"It was nearly two o'clock. Bond put a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarers sunglasses that would identify him to his contact, then walked southwest through the colorful and narrow cobblestoned streets to the intersection of Rue du Chêne and Rue de l'Étuve. There, surrounded by camera-snapping tourists, was the famous statue of the urinating little boy known as Manneken-Pis. Although not the original statue (which was subject to vandalism and was removed), the current idol is an exact replica and is perhaps the most well known symbol of Brussels. Bond didn't know what its origins were, but he knew that it dated from the early 1400s and was perhaps the effigy of a patriotic Belgian lad who sprinkled a hated Spanish sentry who had passed beneath his window. Another story was that he had saved the Town Hall from a small fire by extinguishing it using only means available. Today, "Little Julian," as he is called, was dressed in a strange red cloak with a little fur collar. Louis XV of France began the tradition of presenting colorful costumes to the little boy and since then he has acquired hundred of outfits."

Raymond Benson: "High Time to Kill" (1999)


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007 Food: Bowls of oatmeal

Food: Bowls of oatmeal
Bond book appearance: Never Dream of Dying (2001)
Experience of 007 Travelers: Self-made

"They heard the keys rattle in the door at the mid-morning. A guard came with a tray of food - bowls of oatmeal and no utensils. Surprisingly, it tasted good, even scraped by hand. The meal gave Bond the much-needed energy to formulate a plan."

Raymond Benson: "Never Dream of Dying" (2001)

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007 Drink: Tsingtao beer

Drink: Tsingtao beer
Bond book appearance:  Zero Minus Ten (1997) 
Experience of 007 Travelers: @ home


Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd. (simplified Chinese: 青岛啤酒厂; traditional Chinese: 青島啤酒廠; pinyin: Qīngdǎo píjiǔchǎng; German: Tsingtao-Brauerei) is China's second largest brewery. It was founded in 1903 by German settlers and now claims about 15% of domestic market share. The beer is produced in Qingdao in Shandong province (and more recently in other breweries owned by the company as well), and it gets its name from the old École française d'Extrême-Orient transliteration of the city's name. The beer's present-day logo displays an image of Zhan Qiao, a famous pier on Qingdao's southern shore (Wikipedia).

Read more here

"Woo poured two glasses of gold Tsingtao beer, and they sat down at a table near the kitchen."

Raymond Benson: "Zero Minus Ten" (1997)

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007 Food: Patlican Kebabi

Food: Patlican Kebabi
Bond book appearance: The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Experience of 007 Travelers: Self-made

"After they woke up, they ate luxurious dinner - patlican kebabi, which was made of lamb meat and eggplant - in a nearby restaurant."

Raymond Benson: "The World Is Not Enough" (1999)


Ingredients:

- 5 eggplants
- 1/2 pound ground lamb or beef
- 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Olive oil for brushing


How to do it:

Peel the eggplants striped. Soak in salty water for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine ground lamb with tomato paste, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt (and optional spices). Mix thoroughly.
Use a paper towel to dry the eggplants. Cut them into 1 inch thick pieces.
Take a piece of meat mixture and roll within your palms, press lightly. Pay attention to divide the meat mixture evenly to obtain as many meatballs as the number of eggplant intervals. Set them aside.
Take a skewer. First soak in water for a few minutes, then oil them slightly so that they're not burned and the meat does not stick. Place one eggplant on the skewer, followed by one meatball, and continue this sequence until close to the tip of the skewer. Finally brush the eggplants and meats with olive oil.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and bake for 45 minutes or until eggplants are tender.Recipe: delishturkishfood.com

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In Memoriam: Hugh Hefner

007 Travelers is sad to hear about the death of Hugh Marston Hefner 

Born: 9 April 1926
Died: 27 September 2017

Photo © LasVegasWeekly.com

Hefner was an American magazine publisher, editor, businessman, and playboy. He was best known as the editor-in-chief and publisher of Playboy magazine, which he founded in 1953. He was also the founder and chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises, the publishing group that operates the magazine. A multi-millionaire, his net worth at the time of his death was over $43 million due to his success as the founder of Playboy. Hefner was also a political activist and philanthropist active in several causes and public issues.

He appeared also in the world of James Bond. 007 met him in Raymond Benson's Bond short story "Midsummer Night's Doom" (1999).

" "Excuse me, Mr. Hefner," Lisa said, stepping up to the group.

He turner to her and beamed. "Lisa! he said, interrupting his conversation to give her a hug. "You look lovely."

"Thank you. May I introduce Mr. Bond?"

He held out his hand to Bond and said. "Hugh Hefner."

"Bond, James Bond." The handshake was firm and dry.

The founder and publisher of Playboy magazine looked fit and energetic, and seemed to be taller than Bond remembered. He carried himself with authority and dignity, yet he also exhibited characteristics of playfulness and good humour."

Raymond Benson: "Midsummer Night's Doom" (1999) 


Many Bond girls from the movies have been in the pages of Playboy magazine and Bond himself is a member of the London Playboy Club, which is revealed in "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971), where Bond (Sean Connery) has a member card.

In "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969) 007 (George Lazenby) reads February 1969 issue of Playboy magazine when he is in Bern, Switzerland.

Photo © EON, United Artists, Danjaq LLC

007 Book: Raymond Benson - James Bond Choice of Weapons - Three 007 novels

Book: James Bond Choice of Weapons - Three 007 novels
Author: Raymond Benson
Pages: 847
Language: English


Including the short stories "Live at Five" (1999) and "Midsummer Night's Doom" (1999)

Includes: "Zero Minus Ten" (1997), "The Facts of Death" (1998) and "The Man with the Red Tattoo" (2002).

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007 Food: Fine Japanese meal and Ginjo sake

Food: Fine Japanese meal and Ginjo sake
Bond book appearance: The Man with the Red Tattoo (2002)
Experience of 007 Travelers: Self-made

"She took the tray that had contained a fine Japanese meal consisting of a prawn sushi and an egg roll with crab meat appetisers, sweet-simmered whitebait in soy sauce, boiled shrimp with fish roe, a piece of fried chicken in ginger starch sauce, miso soup, Japanese pickles and steamed rice. She left another bottle of Ginjo sake, his third but not last, and cleared away the empty. It was a slightly sweet sake that came from the Kyoto Prefecture and Bond thought it did nicely as an after dinner drink. He had to admit that the service aboard Japan Airlines was in keeping with the first-class attention to detail that all things seemed to receive in Japan. The twelve-hour flight would be a pleasant one."

Raymond Benson: "The Man with the Red Tattoo" (2002)

Prawn sushi

Egg roll with crab meat appetisers

Sweet-simmered whitebait in soy sauce

Boiled shrimp with fish roe

A piece of fried chicken in ginger starch sauce, Japanese pickles and steamed rice

Miso soup

Ginjo sake

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007 Drink: Sake

Drink: Sake
Bond movie appearance: You Only Live Twice (1967)
Bond book appearance:  You Only Live Twice (1964), The Man with the Red Tattoo (2002) 
Experience of 007 Travelers: @ home

"We have a saying ‘It is the man who drinks the first flask of sake; then the second flask drinks the first; then it is the sake which drinks the man." (Tiger Tanaka)

Ian Fleming: "You Only Live Twice" (1964)


Sake (Japanese: 酒) (IPA: /ˈsɑːkɛ/ SAH-keh), also spelled saké, (IPA: /ˈsɑːkeɪ/ SAH-kay or /ˈsɑːki/ SAH-kee) also referred to as a Japanese rice wine, is made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Unlike wine, in which alcohol (ethanol) is produced by fermenting sugar that is naturally present in fruit, typically grapes, sake is produced by a brewing process more akin to that of beer, where starch is converted into sugars which ferment into alcohol. (Wikipedia). Read more here

Photo © EON, United Artists, Danjaq LLC

Photo © EON, United Artists, Danjaq LLC

Photo © EON, United Artists, Danjaq LLC

See more 007 DRINKS here