Meet Maria Antonia, a food enthusiast and restaurant fanatic whose goal is to eat at each of the 50 best restaurants in the world. However, it is a challenge because the list changes annually. It is as if the food gods are messing with her head and her tastebuds! Maria Antonia spends much of her time in Houston, Texas and San Juan, Puerto Rico and has become an expert in both local restaurant scenes. She also enjoys traveling the world and posting reviews of the delectable bites she eats along the way. She loves learning about new cultures and trying interesting new foods… and of course, cocktails too!

Maria Antonia is passionate about urban gardening and has a menagerie of animals including dogs, bees and hens. She lovingly refers to her urban garden as The Queen’s Hamlet which is inspired by her Austrian namesake, Queen Marie-Antoinette. In 1783, Marie-Antoinette decided to build a hamlet, a little village attached to Versailles. The hamlet served as a functioning farm that included a hen house, vineyards, orchards and vegetable gardens. In 2019, the Palace of Versailles also installed beehives on the hamlet. Marie-Antoinette was a gourmand who loved fine foods and sweets. Her taste for luxury was reflected in the culinary trends of the time. She enjoyed hosting small gatherings on her hamlet and delighting close friends with the amazing meals prepared by the finest chefs. For Marie-Antoinette, the hamlet was an escape from regulated life, as is Maria Antonia’s little oasis in the middle of the big city.

PS: Although Marie-Antoinette was no saint, there is no record that she ever said the hungry peasants should eat cake. That was likely propaganda used as a way to rouse opposition to the monarchy. But since the rumor took hold, you can be sure nobody threw her a going away party on the way to the guillotine.