Travel Casserole

Quick Review: Dino's Sports Bar (Falmouth, MA)

2010-07-18T16:35:00.000-07:00

Dino's took great care of us.

I needed a place for 8 clowns (self included) to watch the US / Ghana game after golfing at Ballymeade. This was part of a wedding weekend, so we needed to keep on a schedule and I didn't want to leave anything to chance.

I stopped by Dino's the day before the game to explain my situation and they said they'd set us up with a couple of tables in the room with the big screen.

Next day we ran a little late so I called to give them a heads up and they were still cool about it. Ended up getting there moments before kick off (and about 20 minutes after we said we'd be there). They immediately hooked us up with the two tables square in front of the biggest screen in the place. Genius. Then they kept the pitchers, nachos, poppers, etc. flowing.

Great guys, great service. And not a bad crowd for a soccer game on a beautiful Saturday afternoon down the Cape.

Quick Review: Il Villagio (Boston)

2010-07-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

Il Villagio was exactly what we were looking for.

Strolling with my wife around the North End one 90 degree night in late June our wish list was this:

* A/C
* Good food
* Not crowded
* Not some cavernous money minting operation
* Not too far away from the main action and energy of the neighborhood

I'm pretty sure we walked past every restaurant in the neighborhood as I searched for the exact atmosphere I was in the mood for. But Il Villagio nailed it.

Winter Vacation '08 - Paris - New Year's Eve in Montmartre

2009-02-28T18:22:00.000-08:00

Celebrating New Year's Eve up in Montmartre at Sacre Coeur was one of the main things we were looking forward to on this vacation. We had kind of stumbled into it in 2006. But this time it was a focal point of the trip. I did not pull it off as smoothly as I would have hoped, but it was a good time nonetheless. As I write this now I am inclined to swear off cold destinations for any future winter vacations, so I don't expect to be back for another NYE in Paris. But I will leave some thoughts and tips for anyone who finds this post while planning their own trip.

Be smarter about your dinner plans that I was
Almost every restaurant in Paris apparently puts together a fancier, multi-course set menu kind of event on NYE. I had read about this in the guide books and should have known better than to do what we did. But we also got lucky in 2006 when we just found a nice neighborhood place that was offering its regular menu, so I guess I was hoping to just pull the same kind of thing off this time. We expected that Corso, a place we had tried earlier in the week, was offering its regular menu. But we didn't call and check and didn't think to ask as we walked in. Found out about the set menu once we were seated and would have felt pretty dumb and impolite if we decided to leave at that point. So it was to be a fancy dinner for us -- both longer and pricier than I was looking for.

Get where you're trying to go earlier than we did
I don't know exactly how early you need to get up to Sacre Coeur to claim some of the spaces with a prime view, but I can tell you that 11:45pm isn't early enough.

Walking up the steps to Sacre Coeur

In '06 we were a bit lucky here, too, as we got to the top maybe 11:35 or 11:40 and were able to maneuver into a position that could at least glimpse the Eiffel Tower at 12. But that was standing on our toes and looking over and through rows of peoples' heads. Not ideal. This year was the same kind of thing. Due to the six course dinner we had we didn't leave the restaurant until 11:30, so we didn't get up to the top until maybe 11:50, by which time we were left to drift around in the areas with obstructed views. However, that wound up not being a huge deal this year because ...

Weather can make or break this experience
It was pretty gray for most of the week, but it was really misty and foggy on NYE. You just flat out could not see the tower except at extreme zoom levels on the camera.

This mist/fog prevented us from seeing the Eiffel Tower this time

That was kind of a buzz kill. Seeing the Eiffel Tower's lights at midnight is one of the 3 cool things about being up the hill in Montmartre on NYE. Given the weather, which wasn't a surprise, we could have gone down to the Champs-Élysées, which is supposed to be party central anyway, and been guaranteed to see it from a much closer perspective. But I'm not a fan of massive crowds and knew the schlep back to our apartment just wouldn't be fun from that part of the city. So, we missed the tower. Luckily, the other 2 cool things were still available to us.

Just about everyone has fireworks
Be alert. Every other person in the crowd seems to have bottle rockets, roman candles or some kind of novelty items that spin and sizzle around your feet.

Crowd & fireworks @ Sacre Coeur. The sequence at 1:31 - 1:38 is my favorite part.

More crowd & fireworks @ Sacre Coeur

It's definitely cool. But pay attention to your surroundings.

Public drinking is rampant
Not surprising, right? It's NYE after all. But this has something of a Bourbon Street to-go cups are okay kind of vibe that still tends to stun someone whose formative drinking years took place in the Boston area, where the authorities take a decidedly hostile stance against fun. (Some 16 years later I still recall with wonder the time I was intercepted by one of Boston's finest because I had taken literally two steps outside of a Brighton bar with a beer bottle in my hand ... good times.)

Walking along the side of Sacre Coeur, being greeted by some friendly fellow celebrants

If you're inclined to partake in the public drinking, consider the byob approach. While there is something to be said for camping out at a cafe and sitting in one of the sidewalk tables under the heat lamps just watching the parade of partiers pass you by, going byob allows you to meander freely about, following the pockets of ad hoc exuberance wherever they may lead.

Walking to Place du Tertre

Most of the action is concentrated in two areas. First is in front of Sacre Coeur, the second is in Place du Tertre. So after most of the DIY the fireworks had subsided, we made our way over to Place du Tertre.

Place du Tertre

Place du Tertre

And this is where we busted out our bottle of champagne, procured earlier that day from a Nicolas store on Rue des Abbesses.

This is also where we posed for the obligatory, I'm-drinking-champagne-in-public-on-NYE-in-Paris shots.

For entertainment, there are still some fireworks to be seen. I remember a bit more action in '06, though.

Fireworks in Place du Tertre

After enjoying some free, low scale pyrotechnics and a couple glasses of champagne, we went back over to the front of Sacre Coeur to see if anything was still going on. I don't think we did this loop back in '06 because we had gone the grab-a-table-on-the-sidelines route. I have to say the aftermath we saw diminished the magical vibe a bit. Most of the crowd had moved on and what was left was the debris of their drinking and a number of characters that seemed like wild cards.

NYE aftermath on the steps of Sacre Coeur

But we did catch one pretty cool thing before we made our way out of there and back to the apartment. These guys were putting together a home made, unmanned hot air balloon. Didn't see exactly how they were doing this, but have to admire the ingenuity. Though I do wonder what happens when it lands. Does it crash into someone's terrace, still aflame?

Revelers send a small fire up into the Parisien night. The exchange you hear between 1:28 and 2:00 or so is me deflecting some cat hopped up on Smirnoff Ice who thought Judy was unaccompanied. Wound up being pretty harmless.

Travelogue: Hotel Intercontinental, Managua, Nicaragua

2009-02-22T09:59:00.000-08:00

Lobby of Real InterContinental Metrocentro Managua

We had some specific needs when we stayed in Managua, so we wanted to make sure we stayed at a place that could help us out and minimize any potential points of stress. On that score, Real InterContinental Metrocentro Managua took good care of us. With the exception of one disappointing hiccup in our shuttle out to the airport as we were leaving, they were really terrific.

Lobby of Real InterContinental Metrocentro Managua

Our first request was that we could stash some of our luggage and souvenirs with them while we were in Havana. We started our vacation in Granada, bought a couple of hammock chairs as well as some ceramic pieces in Masaya and definitely did not want to schlep everything with us back and forth from Havana. The InterContinental agreed to hold our things for us. This was pretty impressive service. We would only be staying one night with them, but they allowed us to drop a significant pile of stuff off 4 days before check in and held them safely for us while we were in Cuba. Incredibly helpful.

Lobby of Real InterContinental Metrocentro Managua

When we did check in, on a Saturday afternoon, we had to make another special request. Our plan was to ship some things to the U.S. so we wouldn't need to bring them with us on the plane. However, we soon found out that one's UPS / Fed Ex options are limited in Managua on a Saturday afternoon. And our flight was very early the next morning, so we couldn't do anything ourselves on Sunday (and I imagine one's options are no better on a Sunday morning than they are on a Saturday afternoon). Thankfully, the concierge worked with us, lining up everything he would need to take care of it after we left. It wasn't necessarily easy and we wound up spending a decent amount of time and money coordinating the whole thing, but it was what we needed to do and again the InterContinental folks came through for us.

Restaurant of Real InterContinental Metrocentro Managua, with bird

Beyond the service, the property itself is solid. The decor and amenities are on par with anything you would expect from an upscale place in a warm U.S. climate like Arizona, California or Florida. This was nice because we were so tired that we didn't leave the grounds. Aside from shuttles to/from the airport, we spent 100% of our ~18 hours in Managua at the hotel.

Restaurant of Real InterContinental Metrocentro Managua, with bird

We had a nice lunch in the hotel restaurant with artistically sculpted flamingos keeping watch over us.

Restaurant of Real InterContinental Metrocentro Managua, with bird

And after zonking out for much of the afternoon, we hit the hotel restaurant again for dinner.

Restaurant patio of Real InterContinental Metrocentro Managua, looking inside

Restaurant patio of Real InterContinental Metrocentro Managua, Judy and I having some laffs

The restaurant staff for each meal was completely attentive and helpful. All in all it was a very mellow, but pleasant way to unwind with good food in a relatively quiet atmosphere, just lounging in the heat.

Short clip from the restaurant patio of Real InterContinental Metrocentro Managua

My main disappointment with the InterContinental was something that I suppose they cannot really control. Based on nothing but hope and my interpretation of the claim on their website that you are "in the heart of the entertainment and commercial district", I was expecting we would be able to walk around something that resembled an urban neighborhood. That definitely wasn't the case. What comes to mind is a suburban commercial intersection. Like Tysons Corner in Virginia, but on a much smaller scale. And hotter. With a chicken-based fast food restaurant as one of the key hubs of activity and life.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. The guidebooks give you not so subtle hints, with things like, "Managua's layout is perplexing to the first time visitor", and "this big sprawling city has no real downtown", and "Managua is not an ideal city for walking". I did read all that, so I wasn't clueless. And from the little glimpse of Managua that we got during our car ride from the airport to Granada (wish I had video of that -- truly eye-opening stuff we saw on the side streets), I saw nothing to suggest the guide books were wrong. Just had a different expectation of what "in the heart of the entertainment and commercial district" might mean.

If we ever find ourselves in Managua again, our expectations will be re-calibrated. And we'll consider getting a tour of some kind, because a few of the places recommended in the InterContinental's video tour look pretty interesting.

Travelogue: Casona de los Estrada - Granada, Nicaragua

2009-02-21T08:38:00.000-08:00

Exterior shot of La Casona de Los Estrada.

When we were looking for a place to stay in Granada last year I started with the places mentioned in a couple of guide books -- Adventure Guide Nicaragua and Moon Handbooks Nicaragua.

The Adventure Guide listed a couple as "exceptional" -- like Casa San Francisco and Patio del Malinche, which do get quite solid reviews over on TripAdvisor.

Street scene in front of La Casona de Los Estrada.

But it was La Casona de Los Estrada, a place given a mere 'highly recommended' by the Adventure Guide, that stood out to me. I liked the fact that it was quite small, with only a few rooms. And if I could snag "Room 1", which got some good reviews on TripAdvisor, then that would close the deal for me.

Entry way of La Casona de Los Estrada.

After trading a couple emails with Carlos (who justifiably gets numerous shout outs over in the TripAdvisor reviews), we locked down "Room 1" and our lodging in Granada was booked.

Room 1 @ La Casona de Los Estrada.

Room 1 @ La Casona de Los Estrada.

View from room 1 @ La Casona de Los Estrada.

This place was a great value. At something like $85/night, our room was huge, with great a/c (which was critical, since it was in the mid 90s every day) and a massive, cool bathroom that I somehow failed to take pictures of.

Video of the walk from hotel's front desk to our room. I cut off the video in the middle of what was meant to be a humorous exhalation of wonder and refreshment, so the effect is just kind of creepy. I apologize for that..

The hotel is also in a terrific location. Just couldn't have been more convenient for what we were looking to do.

The service was mostly strong. The aforementioned Carlos was money. When he was around, you were in good hands. Whether you needed a recommendation for where to get some food or you needed him to grab a cold beer out of the fridge for you at 1:30am, he took care of you. The two girls we saw working a couple of front desk shifts over the course of our stay, however, weren't quite up to the bar that Carlos set.

However, we were taken good care of at breakfast.

Plate of fresh breakfast @ La Casona de los Estrada.

I believe we had 3 breakfasts here. Maybe four. Each day we were helped by the same woman. And what was brilliant was that she tried to tailor our plates each morning based upon what she noticed we did / didn't eat. For example, on the first day, I left all my bananas on my plate (at least the pieces that Judy didn't snag). On day 2, no bananas for me, more pineapple. Our tag team / food swap approach to eating threw her a couple of curve balls, and she never quite picked up the fact that Judy hates papaya. But just the fact that she was paying attention and trying to cater to our tastes was amazing, in my opinion.

Walk from room 1 to the breakfast area @ La Casona de los Estrada.

Sitting in the breakfast area @ La Casona de los Estrada.

Bottom line: if you're looking for a place to stay in Granada, you could do far worse than La Casona de los Estrada. And if life ever swings us back down that way, I don't think I'll bother looking for any other option than Room 1.

Assorted Observations from Quito & Otavalo

2009-02-16T07:13:00.000-08:00

I've been sitting on these shots that don't roll up neatly into any single theme for far too long (trip was in August 2007), so how about a 'random slices of Ecuador' catch all post?

Snapped this from the back of a taxi in Quito, I believe. (See it larger)

I'm pretty sure this, too, is from the back of a taxi on the way to a shopping center in Quito. (See it larger)

Another shot from a taxi. If you look closely you will see a man in the back of that garbage truck. (See it larger)

I love the signs of fast food places lower on the totem pole than BK, McDs, Taco Bell, etc. Even more so outside the U.S. (See it larger)

Shoeshine boys in Quito. Quick tip: if you're thinking of getting a shoeshine in Quito, make sure you have change or small bills. I only had a $5 bill on me. I didn't mind giving the crew $5, but it was a little sad to see them fighting over it as I walked away. Would have been better off with five singles. (See it larger)

This guy with the bread was pretty cool. Saw him in Plaza de la Independencia in Quito. The little bread loaves cost something like $0.30 - $0.40, an we were able to pass one to a shoeshine boy we made quick friends with as we sat around in the plaza this morning. (See it larger)

(See it larger)

On Calle Venezuela in Quito. I'm a sucker for old / small car shots, and the way these colors all lined up struck me as a nice bonus visual effect. (See it larger)

A view of El Panecillo from Basilica del Voto. (See it larger)

One of the shots I took at the house of Oswaldo Guayasamin. Some other shots we took start here on Flickr. (See it larger)

It has been a while so I can't say this with certainty, but I think this was somewhere near Mercado de Pulgas Ipiales. Just liked the way the shot was naturally composed. (See it larger)

This was also near Mercado de Pulgas Ipiales. Was trying to get a shot with the Ecuadorian flag snapping straight out in the wind against the backdrop. Never quite got it timed right, so we took this and moved on. (See it larger)

Plaza de la Independencia / Plaza Grande, Quito. (See it larger)

Plaza de la Independencia / Plaza Grande, Quito. Specifically, Palacio de Gobierno. There was something going on this afternoon, with a lot of men in uniform, both the traditional army / police type and these more formal / ceremonial cats. (See it larger)

Plaza de la Independencia / Plaza Grande, Quito. Hombres Viejos. (See it larger)

Plaza de la Independencia / Plaza Grande, Quito. (See it larger)

Plaza de la Independencia / Plaza Grande, Quito. (See it larger)

I'm rifling through my guide books to try and find out what this pseudo ice cream / custard was called because I could swear it had a distinct name. But I'm coming up empty. Regardless, I liked this scene with the man in his uniform and the father / son combo stepping up to get some dessert on the street. (See it larger)

Street musicians and one of their fans, Quito. (See it larger)

Plaza Santo Domingo, Quito. These solid blue buses kept passing by the solid mustard building and there was something about the contrast that captivated me. Tried multiple times to get a shot I liked. This was the best one, but I still don't love it. (See it larger)

This was near Otavalo, taken from a car we hired to take us over to an area where some of the local weavers have shops. Was a little surprised to see a basketball court appear somewhat out of nowhere amidst the general surroundings. Seeing the girls playing hoops in traditional Otavaleno dress added another element to it all. (See it larger)

Winter Vacation '08 - Paris - Views Around the City

2009-02-15T20:38:00.000-08:00

Similar to the Brugge post, I'm not going to try and tie these shots together with any kind of unifying narrative. Just off the cuff notes about some shots that I liked from our trip.

Even the ads on the Metro struck me as more sophisticated. To be fair, though, you do see plenty of ads asking if you speak Wall Street English, I just didn't take pictures of those.

UPDATE 2/21/09:
Got my videos together on YouTube and can now embed them in these posts. Found another cool thing about the Parisien Metro - great amateur performances. I haven't taken the L in over two years since I bought the Yaris, but I can tell you I saw nothing like this in my first 9 years of taking public transportation in Chicago. And I don't recall ever seeing anything like it in D.C. either, for that matter. Also, for the record, we did drop them a 5 before we split.

We always stop here. This is where we got engaged in 2002. Crazy nerve racking at the time, but in retrospect the play-it-by-ear approach worked perfectly. We randomly stopped here, Judy mentioned it was one of her favorite spots in the city, I pulled the trigger.

Holiday lights in the streets of Montmartre.

Street corner shots in Montmartre.

Another street corner shot in Montmartre.

A look toward the small streets that wind their way to Place du Tertre in Montmartre

We didn't go up the tower this time. Really weren't planning on it and when we saw the ridiculous lines, that confirmed any outside, long shot chance of going up was just not going to happen. But it's nonetheless pretty cool to be walking around the neighborhood and suddenly see it pop out from behind a building.

Had to get some crepes, at least once. Judy went with the Nutella and banane, I opted for jamon et fromage. Both were solid.

Didn't use any bikes from the Velib program, but thought this rack made for an interesting shot. The larger shot will hopefully look good on the wall someday.

These shots are from the Rue Montorgueil area. Would be pretty cool to be able to have this kind of market within walking distance for your daily bread / fruit / fish / olive oil / etc. needs.

Winter Vacation '08 - Brugge - The Scenery

2009-02-15T20:02:00.000-08:00

Not going to try and thread this together much. Just some assorted shots from our time walking around Brugge.

I was intentionally going for the close-to-the-horse effect here in the Markt square. Got scolded a bit by the driver as she passed. Given how many people are just all over this little town are have to always be in the line of fire for these chariot drivers, I must have been doing something particularly annoying for her to pop off at me.

UPDATE 2/21/09
Got some video clips up on YouTube so I can embed them for added context. This is just a quick view of the Markt area, taking it in upon our arrival.

Obligatory 'wafel' shot

This was a pretty funky bike. Would have loved to have seen people actually riding this. Are there Belgian acrobats like the Chinese acrobats?

Even the handrails are cool

Just a bunch of bikes

The irony here is this was perhaps the most alluring arch / entryway we saw and we didn't go through it

I'm such a crap tourist I don't even know the real names of these towers, but I think they are actually a couple of the main touristic attractions of Brugge. I just like how they looked at night.

UPDATE 2/21/09:
Video added.

This was my favorite local piece, without a doubt. What you don't see is it was set beneath a tree strung with simple white lights that added to the whimsical nature of it.

Night sites, by the river and in the Markt

UPDATE 2/21/09:
Videos now available.

Winter Vacation '08 - Paris - The Neighborhood

2009-02-15T17:26:00.000-08:00

As I noted in an earlier post, I thought I had made a huge mistake during our first trip to Paris when I realized we were going to be pretty close to the Pigalle red light district.

However, we soon determined there was nothing to worry about and that most of the area was actually pretty great. It has since become something of a 'comfort zone' for us. So when I found a good deal on an apartment just off the Pigalle square, I didn't hesitate to grab it.

View Larger Map

This turned out to be a great base for us, with good access both up the hill into Montmartre and down to Rue des Martyrs.

UPDATE 2/21/09:
Finally got my videos uploaded to YouTube so I can now embed a few in these posts. This is the walk from our apartment to the Pigalle square. And, to answer the question Judy asks at the end of this, yes, there was someone in Santa's sleigh, which is what I was trying to capture w/ the zoom.

These are just a few of the shots I snagged while walking around during the week we were there.

Just liked something about how simple this was. Was happy to get a shot of it, but glad I wasn't staying there

Le Grenier a Pain -- Judy loves bakeries. We stop and look in the window of almost every one we pass. This one was just up the hill from our place and we got some bread here as well as the reusable bag that Judy is holding.

The holiday lights on some of the main streets were pretty amazing (as seen further below). But even some of the little side streets like these had modest displays that added to the seasonal atmosphere.

This street was always bustling at night, with a number of cafes open to the sidewalk even though the temperatures were in the 20s and 20s. Hard to do the vibe justice in this shot, especially since I'm a hack with the camera. This larger shot is better, but not great.

UPDATE 2/21/09:
Adding a video that gives a bit more of a sense of the feel on Rue des Abbesses.

What was really lively was the bar in this next video. Kind of random. This was a bit further up the hill but not all the way up to Place du Tertre. It was a little sad when, after 'Jump' ended, a couple of the women tried to keep the 'look at me I'm dancing on the tables' vibe going into the next song, which wasn't anything particularly cool or fun. Just gave off that stink of trying too hard, like they were convincing themselves of how much fun they were having by staying up there on the tables.

This was cool, just catching a glimpse of Sacre Coeur as you walk along Boulevard de Clichy.

Another view of Sacre Coeur. This one is near Corso, an Italian place we tried during our stay.

Winter Vacation '08 - Paris - The Eating, Part IV (Sourire de Saigon)

2009-02-15T09:16:00.000-08:00

We found Sourire de Saigon on our last trip to Paris in 2006. It was total chance that we found it, as it was directly across the street from the apartment we rented. And we loved it.

So it was a given that we would be eating here again on this trip, even though we had to hoof it a good bit further this time.

View Larger Map
Map of the walk from 7 Villa Guelma, our rental apartment, to Sourire de Saigon @ 54 Rue Mont de Cenis

What you don't necessarily get in that map visual is that you're dealing with a couple sets of serious stairs in the middle of it. For us this meant a return trip uphill with bellies full of Vietnamese food.

Imposing staircase, Montmartre

But on the way down you get to spot the restaurant's lights like a beacon of deliciousness.

View of Sourire de Saigon from above

We arrived a few minutes early for our reservation, so we walked downhill a bit more, getting a view from the other direction.

This angle illustrates just how in the middle of nowhere this restaurant is

We still had a couple of minutes before our table was ready, so they set us up with two glasses of champagne while we waited.

There is something about the red / violet light motif they have going one here that I really like.

It's chic, but soothing.

We ate here twice during this trip and both times the food and service were fantastic.

View of the bar, which is a tiny, one-man operation

One slight drawback of the low light ambiance is that the pictures I tried to grab with my BlackBerry were just too dark to be useful. And while I'm willing to risk being something of a conspicuous dork to get photos, I wasn't willing to put the flash on here. So there is no photographic evidence of our main courses. But I did get some shots of the side dish that fascinated us in 2006 and continues to fascinate us now: Riz Gluant (aka, 'sticky rice').

Riz Gluant - aka, the best damn rice I've ever had

They bring it out to you in these wooden cylinders and peel it open for you in a banana peeling / corn husking kind of fashion (it's far more elegant than it sounds, though, as it's performed in almost a ritualistic fashion by deft waitresses outfitted in colorful, traditional Vietnamese dresses).

A sad attempt to capture the flambe in action

There was one mild disappointment, though, which was the flaming dessert we ordered. It sounded much better than it tasted, as it was some kind of pineapple croquette soaked in a liqueur. Had the makings of something tasty, but just really didn't work for either of us.

The disappointing croquettes

Nonetheless, if we ever make it back to Paris I am sure we'll look this place up again. The atmosphere is cool, the food is amazing and we highly recommend it.

More shots from inside Sourire de Saigon

Buddha statue near the bar

French / European notables featured in the menu, none of which I recognized, exposing my cultural ignorance. But I'm glad they went with the pictures in the menu approach rather than the pictures all over the wall approach.

Even the bathroom is cool

Interior door of the bathroom

Not sure what the symbolism is of having the Chairman supervising your business in here

Good to see they keep the sink tidy

And apparently they are fans of Tintin

Winter Vacation - Paris - The Eating, Part III (Kastoori)

2009-02-15T08:16:00.000-08:00

Kastoori is another place we found on our first trip to Paris in 2002.

It is ~100 yards from the hotel Les 3 Poussins. Somehow I have managed to not have any pictures handy of the triangular plaza it faces, which is a shame because that setting really adds to the charm of the restaurants in this little strip.

A = location of Les 3 Poussins; K = location of Kastoori; click image for Google Map of location

Neighbors and families congregate in warm weather on the benches and kids pretend to be Zidane or Henry, occasionally bouncing balls off some defenseless Smart car or scooter parked nearby. Lends a nice atmosphere to the whole casual dining experience here. But you'll have to trust me on that since pictures are nowhere to be found right now.

EDIT: Hold the phone. Light bulb went off and I grabbed a screen grab from Google Street View (I love The Internets). This is facing north toward the plaza, Kastoori is up on the right, about where that larger tree is.

Click for larger image

View of interior from our table in the window, at the end of the evening - we were the night owls closing the place down

We have a tradition of going out for Indian food every December 29th in honor of our first date (which was at since-closed Jaipur Palace in Chicago).

Colorful, cushioned banquette

We have something of a love / hate relationship with Kastoori, having had a mixed bag of experiences with them. On the one hand, the service can be spotty. A couple of years ago the guy told us "15 minutes, you'll be next table" and when we came back from a quick stroll we saw he totally slid people in front of us - just not cool.

On the other hand, it's cozy -- maybe 25 people can fit inside.

View of snug dining room

The food, in our experience, has been pretty good more often than not. And you can keep on eye on the guys making it.

View of 'the kitchen'

It's BYOB, which adds to the feel-kind-of-like-a-local vibe that I particularly enjoy. And it was our first Indian place in Paris. Plus, on this Monday night the other Indian place right next door was closed, so we had limited options if we were going to keep our anniversary tradition going.

A surprisingly tasty bottle of Pinot Noir we grabbed just up the street. Snapped a picture of it in hopes of being able to find it somewhere online but no luck thus far.

Judy - enjoying the wine, enduring me

Our experience on this night was more good than bad. Service was decent if not especially warm and welcoming. And the food was really good.

Judy got a tikka masala, which was solid. But my dish was the big winner. I can't remember the exact name, but it was a specialty of the house. Something a la Kastoori. And it was chicken in a pistachio flavored sauce that was ridiculously tasty.

If you look closely you can pick up the green sauce - that was my pistachio dish, which continued the trend of me ordering better than Judy

For dessert we got one order of gulab jamun and one mango kulfi. I'm sure both were pre-made somewhere else, but I liked them. I'm usually not a huge kulfi fan, but this agreed with me. Judy was disappointed that the gulab jamun wasn't as hot as she likes it. I still don't know why some places serve it cool while others serve it hot. Will need to get to the bottom of that mystery some day.

Net - it was a pretty good meal, but we were a little disappointed that the place next door wasn't open, as the service is stronger and food is as good if not better (though it isn't byob, so it ends up a bit pricier). Just bad luck this year that the 29th fell on a Monday.

Winter Vacation '08 - Paris - The Eating, Part II (Corso)

2009-02-14T15:58:00.000-08:00

After getting off to a good start with a pleasant dinner experience at Festivo on our first night of vacation, and a ~36 hour side trip to Brugge we got lucky once again on the third night with dinner at Corso.

View Larger Map

It is on Avenue Trudaine, which is just off Rues des Martyrs. This is another spot we had seen before and wanted to try but hadn't.

This blurry shot from my BlackBerry doesn't really do it justice, but there is a cool patio that flows out onto the sidewalk.

In winter it is covered with plastic and has some heat lamps so some people actually were eating out here, but it was mostly where folks were taking their smoking breaks. Must be quite nice in the spring and summer, though, when the plastic isn't needed.

We stepped in and got a little table for two along the window.

Once again we were fortunate to get a friendly server who spoke English and did not in the least make us feel stupid for not speaking French. In fact, the handful of staff we engaged with all seemed to go a bit out of their way to help us out.

We started with what was a breaded and fried mozzarella appetizer that was fantastic. This was not your TGIFriday's caliber mozzarella stick.

I went with a safe order of pasta in a cream sauce, which was solid.

While Judy enjoyed a seafood risotto.

Note - Judy is also showing off a new crafty thing she got into during this trip -- making felt flower pins.

One thing that was very cool about this neighborhood was right around the corner you had a spectacular view of Sacre Coeur, accented by the holiday decorations strung across the street.

We actually came back here on New Year's Eve hoping to get similar dishes, but I had forgotten that just about every restaurant in Paris goes rather fancy with their menu on NYE. Before we could abort the mission without feeling like total clowns we were on our way into a 6 course set menu. It was nice, but definitely tailored to someone whose tastes are more sophisticated and refined than mine. And I didn't want to queer the vibe for our fellow diners by breaking out the BlackBerry for more photos.

Related Side Note For Anyone Into Design:
While trying to find a website for Corso, I did find something about its interior being designed by Robert Stadler, for whatever that is worth. I know nothing about design. But there are some nice daytime interior shots of the space here.

Winter Vacation '08 - Paris - The Eating, Part I (Festivo)

2009-02-13T05:57:00.000-08:00

Through a fortunate hotel selection for our first trip to Paris in March 2002, Judy and I became familiar with the neighborhood around Rue des Martyrs in the 9th arrondissement (profiled in 2005 by the NYTimes).

It was sheer luck then that I booked us at Les Trois Poussins. I found it on Expedia -- the price was right and the pictures seemed decent. This was in the day before TripAdvisor had built up 179 reviews on the place. So with fairly limited info I pulled the trigger and hoped for the best.

I panicked a little bit on the flight over as I read more about the area and was realizing that we were really close to the 'red light district' of Pigalle. I had visions of the old Combat Zone in Boston where my friends and I would occasionally venture for sport during high school and college. But once Judy and I were on the ground and wandering about the neighborhood we realized it really wasn't that big of a deal. We did see a few dicey places, but it was nothing you don't see in just about every big city.

A = Les Trois Poussins; B = Pigalle; red box highlights part of Rue des Martyrs

The point of all this background is that Rue des Martyrs turned out to be a great place with a number of nice little restaurants and shops. On each of our successive trips here we always end up gravitating back into this "hood". And this time we finally got a chance to try Festivo.

We had wanted to try it during one of our previous visits but never made it in as it always seemed pretty crowded.

But on our first night out this time we got lucky. We got a table for two right in the window and our waiter was great. I always worry a little bit about the response I'm going to get when I break out the "est-ce-que vous parlez anglais?" But this guy (1) did speak English and (2) was very friendly.

So I exhaled. Then we both settled in and had a nice meal. Starting with a preposterously large 'appetizer' of caprese salad. This seriously was enough tomatoes for 6 people.

The entrees were great. Not sure how appetizing these dim pictures from my BlackBerry make them look, but trust me, they were quite nice.

Judy got some linguine in a spicy honey pesto sauce (which she has promised to try and emulate back home because it was that good).

And I got a fairly simple gnocchi with prosciutto. But just because it was simple doesn't mean it wasn't excellent. It was. After a long flight, followed by the car ride and bag schlep to our apartment, followed by a 3 or 4 hour zonk out nap, followed by a ~20 minute walk down the hill, this was a spectacularly comforting meal.

Winter Vacation '08 - Brugge - The Shopping

2009-02-10T20:13:00.000-08:00

Brugge ---at least the areas we were in--- seems all about the retail. In addition to chocolate shops there are general gourmet food stores, clothing stores, plenty of souvenir type stores and various chains like H&M and Zara.

Judy must have done this in about 12 different chocolate shop windows looking for the same kind of chocolate covered walnut we got on the train from Paris. No dice, though

UPDATE 2/21/09:
Finally got my videos up on YouTube so I can embed them in these posts. More evidence of Judy's relentless search for the special chocolate covered walnuts.

Zara has become a vacation staple with us. They seem to have a store everywhere we go. And while it's lost some of its appeal now that they have a location at Old Orchard, we still got caught in its magnetic field in Brugge. It almost couldn't be helped since it was only a couple hundred yards away from the hotel.

View Larger Map
A = hotel; B = Zara

We have dialed down the haul we take out of Zara nowadays since the novelty has worn off and, if I'm being honest, I just really can't pull off those shirts like cool Spanish guys can. But we were still able to pick up a couple of wine glasses and keep our tradition going of grabbing 2 glasses from every country we visit.

The rest of our shopping activity was right out of the bad tourist handbook. First, there were the miscellaneous kiosks around the Markt.

Most of them were selling exactly the same things, just like every other market in the world.

But that didn't stop me from picking up a sweet winter hat so I can finally show off my life long love for Club Brugge.

I also couldn't resist what seemed like the sock bargain of a lifetime. These were like 10 pairs of socks for 6 euros, or something like that. How could you lose?

As it turns out, the socks aren't great quality. At least not as socks. But I've since repurposed one of them as a sweater for my 3.8 pound dog. So 20 dog sweaters for 6 euros might be an even bigger bargain.

The other joint that sucked us in was this crazy chocolate place.

I was in here for like 15 minutes and as far as I can tell the only thing they sell is chocolate covered almonds. But they seem to be making a pretty good racket out of it.

What was impressive is that apparently to qualify for a clerk job at La Cure Gourmande in Brugge, you need to be able to speak 4 languages. As a Rosetta Stone wannabe, watching these people switch deftly between French, Spanish, English and Flemish was pretty amazing.

Finally, there was the "one that got away". Walking around another market during our last afternoon there I spied a stall selling Romanian wines. I circled the place like 5 times thinking 'how cool would it be to grab some Romanian wine from Belgium?'. And it would have been cool. But my rational side prevailed. It was cold, I didn't want to carry any more crap, and really, how good would that wine be once I got it home? Plus, maybe we'll just save that particular souvenir for some future trip to Romania. I hear it's just like Napa was in the 1960s ...

Winter Vacation '08 - Brugge - The Eating

2009-02-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Even though we failed to sample some the Belgian standards, such as moules, or frites, or --- blasphemy! --- beer, we did enjoy some interesting eating during our ~30 hours in Brugge.

Waffles & hot chocolate

First, the cliche hot chocolate and waffles. We stumbled upon this place at an incredibly lucky time when a little table in the window had just opened up. Trying to find seats at restaurants and cafes in Brugge was like playing musical chairs with a 10:1 people to chairs ratio. Not great times. But this one worked out for us.

The place obviously gets crushed by a relentless stream of tourists, which is reflected in the weary stoicism bordering on resentment with which the staff serves you. Civil and efficient, yes. But don't hold your breath waiting for a smiley face to be drawn on your check.

The basic hot chocolate was very good. And they didn't skimp on the schnapps in my amped up version.

The waffles were so light and clean tasting (if you can say that about something drizzled in chocolate and ice cream), that you can't even compare them to the stuff that gets passed off as waffles in your local diner. But then, that's not really saying a lot, eh?

Net: nice little rest stop to warm up for a few minutes before rejoining the touristic horde.

Dinner @ Maximiliaan's

Recharged by the sugar and warmth of the cafe, we ambled about the town looking for a place to get dinner later. We selected Maximiliaan von Oostenrijk almost entirely on looks. The setting on the outside was picturesque (though this shot from by BlackBerry doesn't really do it full justice).

Plus, from what we could see through the windows it looked to have the kind of rustic vibe we enjoy.

Tucked away a bit from the main streets, we also thought it might be a bit less crowded than some of the other places we had passed.

Image source: Maximiliaan von Oostenrijk

So, we decided to give it a shot. When we showed up for our reservation the atmosphere was mostly what we had expected it would be ... with the exception of our waiter. He was a cross between John Goodman and the guitarist / singer (aka, the 'Austrian Larry Bird') who can be found pleasing crowds at Chicago Brauhaus. He didn't really give us a warm fuzzy right off the bat. Actually, it was almost as if the manager and the waiter were giving us the good cop / bad cop routine. Weird. And kind of a buzz kill.

Once he did warm up to us, though, we had a mostly enjoyable time. The wine was good, but the quality of the food we ordered was inconsistent.

We got off to a great start with the 'croquettes au fromage' (which sounds a lot nicer than the English translation of 'cheese fritters' on the multi-lingual menu).

The Chateaubriand was pretty solid, but the fries were disappointingly bland.

And the creme brulee was a joke. Looked like creme brulee, tasted like low grade pudding.

Net - nice space, but if for some reason I ever find myself in Brugge again, I won't be making another reservation at Maximiliaan von Oostenrijk.

UPDATE 2/21/09
Finally got some clips up on YouTube so I can embed them here. This is from the area near Maximiliaan von Oostenrijk. Honestly I'm not sure if the restaurant Judy is in front of is Maximiliaan's or a neighboring place. But it's definitely in the general area of where we had dinner, so you get the gist of the vibe where we were. Relatively quiet.

Gluhwein & potato salad

The next day we had to try the gluhwein. It was everywhere (actually saw it a decent amount on the streets of Paris, too). (FYI, as of this writing there are more than 600 YouTube results for gluhwein, if you're interested.)

We see its Nordic cousin, glogg promoted heavily in Andersonville every holiday season, but haven't tried it since a DIY attempt at home went horribly wrong a few years ago.

But when in Brugge, drink like the Bruggians, no?

So we ponied up our 2 euros for a styrofoam cup of gluhwein and gave it a shot. Really wasn't much different than what I remember pulling off the stove during our disappointing at-home attempt in 2001. Next time I'll be content to just take the photos and maybe not try the product.

Next, the potato salad.

Have to admit that there is something oddly compelling about a big pile of potato salad.

And this particular pile was overseen with some flair, which added to the allure.

But the verdict from Judy was "okay". And "okay" on Judy's scale is akin to "really wish I didn't order it" on most people's scales.

Go figure. Potato salad made in 20 kilo batches at an open air market catering to tourists isn't that great.

Redemption: one final Belgian hot chocolate before the train

But we closed out Brugge on a high note, with a hot chocolate in the lounge of the Hotel Kempinski. Very nice.

Winter Vacation '08 - Brugge - The Hotel

2009-02-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

After perhaps more deliberation than was necessary, we decided on Brugge as our side trip destination during our winter vacation. Next step then was to find a hotel.

During the deliberation process, Brugge had just edged out Luxembourg City.

Luxembourg had two big 'pros' in my mind:

(1) It's kind of random. You don't often hear about people going to Luxembourg. That appealed to the competitive traveler in me.
(2) The Sofitel Luxembourg Le Grand Ducal looked like a pretty sweet hotel.

And if I'm going to do one random night in a somewhat random place, I'm going to make it pleasant. So on the hotel front, the bar was set kind of high for Brugge.

Overall, though, Brugge was clearly the better option. Multiple friends had told me "Brugge is cool". Brugge is renowned for its Christmas Market. And Brugge promotes itself on YouTube.

Edge: Brugge.

But I was having a hard time finding the 'perfect' hotel.

I checked out some suggestions from the NYTimes, without much luck.

I tried the listings from Venere.com, which yielded a couple of interesting candidates in the Hotel Aragon the Hotel Crowne Plaza and the Hotel Heritage. But each of them gave me some pause. Whether it was the photos on Venere, something said in a review or just flat out 'no vacancy', I was still coming up with nada.

That's when I hopped over to the hotel reviews on TripAdvisor and wound up finding the Kempinski (officially the Kempinski Hotel Dukes' Palace).

I have no idea why this place is #20 (20?!?) on the most popular list on TripAdvisor. Most of the reviews were pretty positive, and we found that it definitely lived up to the hype.

It was visually impressive on the outside...

... and charming on the inside, with a nice mix of vintage and contemporary features.

Our room was fairly compact, but well appointed.

Forgive the disheveled state - totally blanked on taking pictures until just before check out

The bathroom was excellent.

And we had a pretty cool view of the courtyard.

There's also a chill little bar on the first floor, where we enjoyed a nightcap after dinner.

Loved the snacks they provided - an Asian mix, including Wasabi coated soy nuts. Surprisingly good complement to the Sauternes, in my opinion.

Finally, this is where we made back some of the money on the cost of the room. Free chocolates. We weren't here more than 24 hours, but Judy hit this bowl 4 or 5 times. After eating a handful over the rest of our trip, we still came home with more than 20 in our bags. Ridiculous. Might need a 12-step program.

UPDATE 2/21/09:
Finally got a couple of brief video clips up on YouTube so I can embed them here. Nothing amazing, just a bit more life than a still shot, obviously.

Winter Vacation '08 - The Apartment

2009-01-19T18:52:00.000-08:00

After having a good experience with Lodgis.com in 2006, we decided to give them another try for this trip. And we aimed for the same general vicinity, winding up in the 18th arrondissement, in this place on Villa Guelma. It was right near the Pigalle Metro stop, just south of the Butte de Montmartre, and just north of the Rue des Martyrs stretch we luckily discovered on our first trip in 2002.

View Larger Map

Now home and looking through all my photos from the trip, I realize I did a pretty bad job of capturing the feel of the apartment. Luckily, the shots on that Lodgis site do a pretty good job of showing what the place looked like. Even so, I did grab a few that will remind me of what our week there was like.

The entry way.
Not sure why I didn't grab an exterior shot, but this is what you encountered after entering the security code at the front door. Nice attempt at a little christmas tree.

The old school elevator
Getting two people in here was snug. Getting two people and a few suitcases upstairs required multiple trips. But it was cool. Much more fun than new school (?) elevators.

And we took a Parisien cliche shot of Judy avec baguette.

The door
There it is in all its nondescriptness, the front door to unit 5F (I think ... maybe 5G).

The living room
Nothing too fancy, but it got the job done.

The dining room
Again, it worked, though we really used it primarily as a place to keep the suitcases and our coats and whatnot.

The kitchen
Coffee maker, mini fridge, microwave (listed in order of importance). All we needed. And a sink, I guess. Didn't bother with the stove this time.

UPDATE 2/21/09:
Hardly worth posting, but I found 7 seconds of video that I took inside the apartment.

The bedroom
Or, at least the view from the bedroom. During one of the two very brief periods of sunshine that we enjoyed during the whole week.

And that is the Eiffel Tower in the red box. And this was the only time we were able to see it because the rest of the week was pretty grey. Must be cool in the summer, though.

The Terrace
Another reason this apartment would be much, much cooler in the summer than winter is this terrace. It was massive. The views actually weren't spectacular by any means. The street is a little 200 yard cul de sac. But the terrace would be a great place to just sit outside with some vin et fromage perhaps and pretend you're Parisien for a few hours.

Brief glimpse of the sun ...

... and the look during a light snow the morning we left

The view toward the main street
And this is the view we had every day walking out to the main street and the Metro, etc. Despite how it looks, Judy is checking for rain and not raising the roof.

Winter Vacation '08 - The Flight - Chicago to Paris

2009-01-19T18:29:00.000-08:00

As of October we were on the fence about whether we were going to try and take a trip for winter vacation this year. It's never a bad idea to save some money. And flights to a number of places that I wanted to visit were ridiculous (seriously, like $3600 for two round trips to Bogota). American had also conveniently blocked most of the days we wanted to travel from realistic redemption of my AAdvantage miles. So it was looking like a staycation. Then Judy's brother changed the equation a bit by offering some VIP upgrades that were going to expire if no one used them. These upgrades are magic. Pending availability, they take your coach fare seat and turn it into a business class seat. Big difference. Big difference in experience and big difference in value (a quick check of fares on AA.com shows that business class seats are ~6x - 7x the prices of coach seats - i.e., it's highly unlikely I'll be interested in paying full price for these seats anytime soon, so if I want to have this experience, the time was now).

So I renewed my research, found an okay fare to Paris, and vacation was on again. And we got to see 'how the other half lives' for a few hours.

We got a little champagne toast to kick off the flight. Or, in our case, kick off the 90 minute delay at the gate due to some weather and mechanical issues in Chicago. Still, a nice gesture.

Then they passed out these little cards which were to help hustle us through immigration in Paris. Great concept, but we wound up not even needing them.

Finally wheels up and the appetizers begin, stepping it up a level from domestic 'first' class service by adding a nice little cheese and sun dried tomatoes dish to the hot nuts.

Judy even got into the spirit of things with a little bloody mary while she fired up the entertainment system.

Then the meal began, almost restaurant style, with a salmon appetizer (and I passed mine to Judy).

Then the main course, which, given the limitations of airline food prep, wasn't all that bad.

Followed by a dessert, which was a highlight (serving ice cream is not as challenging as serving pork, I imagine).

Having gorged myself, it was time to relax. And this seat adjustment system up here is amazing. Just a whole different world. I've been fortunate enough to score the occasional domestic 'first' class upgrade between Chicago and New York and it's just absurd how different the experience is.

So I settled in with a book, some after dinner port and the trusty carmex (essential for a 9-hour flight).

Finally, after a good nap, it's breakfast time.

The whole flight was almost like a vacation in and of itself. What's that line from Ferris Bueller? "If you have the means, I highly recommend it". Or, cozy up to someone who has VIP upgrades they might share.

Review: Tabla (NYC)

2009-01-19T15:56:00.000-08:00

Note: I'm writing this three months after my stay. My posting activities fell off drastically in November and December. So, take this more as directional recollections than a highly focused critique.

The wife and I watch our fair share of Iron Chef America. And a few weeks before we were going to be in NY visiting family, we saw the battle pitting Bobby Flay against Floyd Cardoz of Tabla. That particular episode wasn't especially appealing to us since we aren't big snail eaters. But the description of Tabla sounded interesting so we wanted to give it a shot.

We aren't normally 'fine diners' (one exception being our anniversary dinner @ Arun's), and this wound up being a touch fancier, more formal and sophisticated than we expected. If we had known exactly what we were getting into we might not have followed through with our reservation. But I'm glad we did because it was quite good.

If I could do anything differently, the one thing that was a bit disappointing was our table placement. It might seem odd to complain about having too much space between tables at a restaurant (especially if you know me), but we were on kind of an isolated island, tucked into a nook at the top of the stairs.

If it were a corner with walls you might be able to construe it as private and romantic. But in their wide open layout it was more like being in no man's land. Unfortunately this vibe didn't hit me right away so we didn't request a move. And I got over it. A small-ish issue really. On to the food ...

... and we're off to a slow start because I can't really remember what this was. I grabbed a copy of their seasonal menu from the web site after we at there, but it didn't include this little starter soup. I'm sure it was nice ...

The naan was quite nice. Fresh out of the oven, cheesy, comforting.

This next one was a surprise. I ordered the vegetarian tasting menu, which was going to take me out of my comfort zone a bit. I'm an on / off vegetarian, and when I'm on I am the world's worst vegetarian because I like about 4 vegetables and two types of fish. So 'salad of baby beets' was something I just hoped to get through. Didn't expect to enjoy it. But with the Roquefort cheese and ginger, I have to say it was pretty tasty.

I did hit a little speed bump with the Stuffed Jack-B-Little Pumpkin, featuring "early fall root vegetables". Let's say some root vegetables were tougher on my palate than others. But nice presentation.

Another semi-surprise was the Chantrelle & Potato "Risotto". To say I don't enjoy mushrooms is an understatement (like I said, I'm not a great vegetarian). But I was able to work around the biggest pieces and did enjoy the overall taste of the dish, including the coconut broth.

Our desserts were the stand outs.

First, the Tahitian Vanilla Bean Cheesecake (with 'graham crumble, concord grape sauce and lemon eucalyptus sorbet). I thought this was great. Judy wasn't thrilled, but I loved it.

But she did like her white chocolate mousse. (Sorry, can't find the full detailed description on any menu.)

Finally, always a crowd favorite, the mignardises.

All in all, it was a nice night out. I am sure people with more sophisticated palates and fewer self-imposed dietary restrictions would enjoy it much more than I did. (And you can check out a pdf of their menu here to judge whether it's right for you.) Given my own limitations and our relatively isolated table, it wasn't great value in my mind. But the service was very good, the presentation was terrific and the overall vibe was very nice. Just not in my personal sweet spot when it comes to dining options.

Review: Le Parker Meridien (NYC)

2009-01-19T15:02:00.000-08:00

Note: I'm writing this three months after my stay. My posting activities fell off drastically in November and December. So, take this more as directional recollections than a highly focused critique.

I loved this hotel. I traveled to New York a decent amount in 2007-2008, staying in a variety of hotels at a variety of prices. Without question, this one night at Le Parker Meridien was the coolest experience and maybe the best overall value.

* The London was pretty sweet, but also pretty expensive and not really designed to get any work done.

* The Westin Times Square is solid, but doesn't possess the same cool factor as Le Parker Meridien.

* The Embassy Suites near the financial district provided great space and had the best gym (though I didn't use the one at the Meridien, which looked excellent, too), but that part of town isn't convenient for much (for me, anyway).

* And the Roger Williams can be a great deal, but the room doesn't come close to what I had at the Meridien.

My stay got off on the right foot when the agent at the front desk informed me I had been upgraded to a "tower suite". This was my first and remains my only stay at Le Parker Meridien, so I cannot compare the 'tower suite' with anything else. But if you're offered an upgrade to a 'tower suite', take it.

I liked the room as soon as I walked in. It's not the most luxurious room you'll ever stay in, or even the largest. But the smart design touches really impressed me.

The living room / work area is well laid out. The desk design is just smart - one area for your laptop and a separate area (the rounded table in the photos) to spread out some paperwork. Maybe a little detail, but just very smart.

The bathroom was beautiful, simple and sleek. If you appreciate this kind of modern ascetic, this place is for you.

And, bonus for me, no 'rainforest' or 'waterfall' or whatever shower head (I hate those).

But the pièce de résistance was the way they incorporated the entertainment center into a swiveling half-wall that could be configured to either face the bedroom or face the living room. As you see in the photos below, I really enjoyed this feature.

Living room mode

Bedroom mode

Mid-swivel mode

Okay, so I really liked the whole TV thing. The room also had some great closet space (you'll have to trust me on this, as I was so caught up with taking pictures of the TV that I failed to grab any of the closets).

Net: Depending upon where prices are, I'll be seeking out Le Parker Meridien whenever I can. (This night the price was $557 tax included and was competitive with similar class rooms given the timing I needed. Not sure what the 'tower suite' might cost without the benefit of a free upgrade.)

Review: El Milagro (Chicago / Pilsen)

2009-01-19T14:10:00.000-08:00

Note: I'm writing this three months after my stay. My posting activities fell off drastically in November and December. So, take this more as directional recollections than a highly focused critique.

The wife and I were heading down to Pilsen for our annual National Museum of Mexican Art visit to take in their Dia de los Muertos exhibit.

We wanted to grab lunch there, so I did some research on Yelp and liked what I read about El Milagro.

Image Source: Ren H. of Yelp

Loved it. Great deals on tamales, nice atmosphere. I won't pretend to remember all the details at this point, but we loved the food and didn't spend a lot. Good deal.

Mini-Review: Empanada Mama (NYC)

2009-01-19T14:06:00.000-08:00

Note: I'm writing this three months after my stay. My posting activities fell off drastically in November and December. So, take this more as directional recollections than a highly focused critique.

I first learned about Empanada Mama via an article in the NYTimes. Sounded interesting, so I flagged it for future reference. That came in handy last October when my wife and I were in NY visiting family.

I liked the place right off the bat. Great colors, nice little design, good use of a small space.

And the menu does the trick for me. Nice balance of keeping it simple - offering empanadas, arepas mainly - but still offering great variety.

We tried a few different things on this initial trip (I've since made two return runs during subsequent business trips). The Cubana arepa was pretty good. But for me, I could eat the Hawaiian empanadas all day (ham, sauteed pineapple pieces, mozzarella cheese). Good god, they are freaking tasty.

We also had a nice little view out to the sights of this stretch of 9th Ave. (between 51st and 52nd, which, by the way, seems to offer a phenomenal variety of food options from around the world all within a 2 block radius).

Bottom line: I wish lived next to Empanada Mama's. Or, maybe that there were an Empanada Mama's right next to where I live. Either way - I wish I could include their Hawaiian empanadas in my diet more regularly.

Review: Affinia Dumont (NYC)

2009-01-18T11:30:00.000-08:00

Note: I'm writing this three months after my stay. My posting activities fell off drastically in November and December. So, take this more as directional recollections than a highly focused critique.

I am a big fan of 'apartment hotels', where you get a kitchen or kitchenette in room. I'm not sure exactly why. Grabbing some groceries locally and stuffing them in the fridge works for me on a couple of levels. One, it's more economical than either the mini bar or the hotel restaurant/room service options. Two, it gives you at least some small sense of 'living like a local' (admittedly, sometimes a very, very small sense -- I don't think the Affinia Dumont's lobby amenities are commonly found in your average Manhattan apartment building, but then again, I really don't know).

So when the wife and I were planning a quick trip to New York for some family activities, I checked out the various Affinia locations looking for the best overall deal I could find. It was far from 'cheap', but it's New York. Prices are high across the board, so the question is more about the value you're getting. After all was said and done, the Affinia Dumont ended up being ~$500/night and the value was just okay. There were some highs and some lows that balanced each other out.

One of the highs was the view. We had room 3402, so we were decently high up and the view was pretty cool. I won't go all the way to 'spectacular', but it was pretty cool.

This night shot from my Helio doesn't do it justice, but I'm including anyway. Use your imagination to picture what the real effect was.

The space was good. The room is unquestionably big. But the furnishings are also unquestionably a bit dated.

Yes, that is a 29" (maybe a 32"?) old school TV.

Yes, that desk looks a little bit like something from the Hardcastle & McCormick era.

The bathroom was decent, though the folks who designed it look like they borrowed some inspiration from the closets of the Hotel Monaco in San Francisco.

And the kitchen was serviceable. Not ideal for entertaining, perhaps, but it suited our needs.

Additionally, they do have a pretty good gym, which you can check out on their web site. Small but nice space with a good mix of modern equipment.

My two biggest gripes with the Dumont would be (1) you could hear a lot between the walls, and (2) they negged my request for a late check out.

Regarding the walls, maybe it varies by room, but we heard screaming kids in the morning. Part of this is the hotel's issue (some insulation please?) and part of it is the parents/nanny issue (really? screaming/shrieking for 45 minutes? a little exuberance is understandable, but how about some consideration of your neighbors? 45 minutes of shrieking before 10am in a hotel isn't cool).

While the acoustics were annoying, my biggest gripe with the Affinia was that they would not accommodate us even a little bit regarding our request for a late check out. I'm not the biggest road warrior in the world, but over the years I've probably racked up a few hundred nights in hotels and I have had my late check out request declined only once. By the Affinia Dumont. Extremely aggravating. Especially because we were requesting it on a Sunday, which is not the busiest check-in day in the hotel biz (someone by all means correct me if I'm mistaken). But worse, I was able to check their web site for reservation avails that day and there were multiple rooms available for booking (i.e., they weren't full - not close). So why the flat decline of a late check out? It's too bad, too, because the Affinia chain does try hard in other ways to tailor their service to your needs and desires. After you've booked they reach out to you via email asking what kind of pillows you'd prefer, whether any of their spa packages are of interest, whether you could use any complimentary toiletries, etc. Some nice touches. But for me, all that goodwill was undone by what I perceived to be an unnecessary rejection of my request for a late check out.

Net: it was decent for this trip, but not a delight by any means, and I'll be looking for alternatives on my next trip to NY.

Review: Hotal Monaco (San Francisco)

2009-01-18T11:19:00.000-08:00

Note: I'm writing this three months after my stay. My posting activities fell off drastically in November and December. So, take this more as directional recollections than a highly focused critique.

The Monaco was a solid option. Maybe a little pricey @ around $400/night (including taxes and such). But it provided decent space and amenities along with a helpful staff.

Room 714 was comfortable. Neither huge nor necessarily luxurious, it got the job done. Nice bed, reliable internet connection, good bathroom.

One nice touch that I was glad to see and have wondered why I don't see it more often was a recycling bin. Wish every hotel would provide these.

And while I didn't take advantage of them on this trip, perhaps on another occasion (or, more likely, in another lifetime), I'll hit the mini bar for everything it's got and bust out the zebra robe, head down into the lobby for some of their complimentary drinks around happy hour time and see where things lead.

Last but not least, they do have a gym. Not the best or most modern gym around, but it's better than nothing. I was in there maybe around 8 or 9pm and there was no one on duty, which was only a bother because I couldn't figure out how to change the channels or get any volume going on the TVs. Small nuisance, really, but it would have been nice to get them onto some news rather than the Rock of Love-esque crap that was being featured.

Review: Broadway Cellars (Chicago)

2008-10-12T08:52:00.001-07:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

After meaning to try Broadway Cellars for well over a year, my wife and I finally gave it a shot last Friday night. And it was great.

The place has a nice vibe. Stylish but not stiff. The decor is cool and contemporary, but has something of a personal or DIY feel.

I don't know exactly how to explain it, but it just didn't strike me as the rote implementation of a templatized corporate design or the pristine vision of some highly paid hotshot designer, but rather it's just the concept of the owners/management who may even have done it themselves and pulled off something pretty cool. (I could be totally wrong about this, but, for what it's worth, that's the impression I got.) Any slight imperfections kind of add to the charm. For example, it's hard to imagine an experienced design pro going with the unfinished wood wine racks in the back.

The artwork on the wall also provides a nice local feel. Applying the neighborhood coffee shop aesthetic to a sophisticated yet comfortable dining experience.

I suppose it has the risk of coming off as pretentious or contrived somehow, but both my wife and I felt like it worked. (Though, personally, I wouldn't be lining up to pay $425 for any of the pieces on display. That seems like a stretch. But then, I suppose having $50 price tags on them would run sort of counter to the semi-elegant vibe they are aiming for).

The mood is set from the beginning with the table setting. Sometimes the little details are everything, eh?

Here, the wine list is angled to reflect the votive light, the bread is warm and they set the oil and Parmesan dish up for you right off the bat. Voila. And the paper menu reinforces the casual, almost rustic kind of feel. The dishes may be sophisticated, but the atmosphere makes everything feel quite accessible.

We opted for the "Let's Hop a Cab" wine flight, despite my aversion to the cutesy name. One from California, one from Chile and one from Australia. Three 3oz pours for $15 - not inexpensive, but decent value for the option to sample such a range by the glass.

Our meal began with the crab cakes appetizer, which was excellent.

It took a little while to come out, but once we dug in it was clear that the time was more a function of perhaps a 'slow food' approach than any kitchen dysfunction. The dish was hot and fresh, the taste and texture of the cakes was sublime and the sauce added just the right spicy notes. Some places try to wow you with crab cakes the size or your head and some maybe crank out so many of them that you can tell they were made assembly line style yesterday morning, and others use so much oil that you might enjoy the first bite but need an iron stomach to get beyond two. These felt and tasted like they were made on the spot just for us. Really, really good.

For the main course, Judy ordered the seafood risotto and raved about it.

Seriously, every other bite triggered a "this is so good". She can be an easy grader at times, but she knows her seafood and this was the most exuberant she's been about a dish in a while.

I went with the Penne special of the night, which involved sausage and sweet peppers.

The sauce was nice, the sausage was good, but the Penne were a little overdone. The taste overall carried the dish, but it could have been excellent were it a bit closer to al dente.

Finally, though we were stuffed, our server got us to try the gelato.

Apparently it's locally made by a woman in her kitchen, very Recipe for Success style. It was good. I wouldn't say it was amazing, but it was definitely good. Of the three flavors we tried -- chocolate, graham cracker and cinnamon -- the cinnamon was the stand out. My wife was hoping for a bit more actual cracker in the graham cracker scoops and I agree it was maybe more subtle than it needed to be. But honestly, I was concentrating on the Selaks Ice Wine (just one of many nice postprandial options on their dessert menu) and the gelato was just an afterthought.

Mini-Review: Zanzibar (Chicago)

2008-10-12T07:36:00.001-07:00

Note: This also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Finally.

I've lived across the street from Zanzibar's Bryn Mawr/Kenmore corner for 6+ years and it's great to finally have something useful and pleasant there. It's infinitely better than the depressing convenience store that used to fill this space (though that's an admittedly very low bar - an ATM and a newspaper box would've been a huge upgrade over that joint).

Last night Zanzibar had all the telltale signs of a just opened small business. Shelves not fully stocked. Customers outnumbered by an eager to help staff. Self appointed members of the neighborhood welcome wagon greeting / interrogating the owner. And a spotless, stage crafted look that will hopefully ease into a more 'lived in' feel over the coming months.

While their pastry and cake cases were a little thin last night, their ice cream counter was ready to go. I'd estimate they have two dozen or so flavors, all of which sounded pretty good. To his credit, the guy behind the counter offered me the try-before-you-buy tasting opportunity, but I felt confident with my order: one Espresso Oreo and one Snap-o-Lantern (spicy pumpkin ice cream with bits of ginger snap cookies).

Both were excellent. Great texture and consistency - fresh and light. Nicely done.

Looking forward to having Zanzibar in the neighborhood.

Sunset at the Top of Quito's TeleferiQo

2008-10-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to have some inside contacts in Quito, as a friend/co-worker of Judy's has family there. And they were nice enough to guide us around parts of the city one afternoon / evening.

First of all, they couldn't have been nicer to us. But on top of that they got us to see things that we either would've blown off (and definitely shouldn't have) or would've only gotten a limited view of (and missed some great perspective along the way).

One of those was the TeleferiQo.

The TeleferiQo is a park / complex featuring aerial cable cars that take you up into the hills near the Pichincha volcano. The cable car rides takes about 10 minutes, during which time you're elevating from roughly 9,000 feet above sea level to about 13,400 feet above sea level.

I could have sworn I had pictures of the wife during this ride, but I can't find them. Bottom line - she wasn't thrilled with the ride. But I did snap this shot of some randoms after we got out of our car.

The guy in the jeans and jacket might look rugged, but if I remember correctly he was squealing a little bit like a nervous child. Embarrassing, really.

Signs like this one didn't soothe Judy's nerves at all.

But I just thought the image would make a kick-ass t-shirt. (And it wasn't nearly as disconcerting as the time we were driving in Costa Rica about to cross a small narrow bridge in the middle of nowhere with a sign reading "Puente en mal estado". Terrific. We rolled the dice and got lucky there.)

While it was relatively warm and mostly sunny down at 9,000 feet, it was definitely cooler up at the top. Judy didn't have the right footwear for the snow / hail mixture that we encountered.

But we were able to warm up with some traditional Ecuadorian adult beverages and comfort food.

The drink, called canelzao, is served hot and involves aguardiente and cinnamon. I liked it, Judy less so. You can check out this canelazo recipe, but maybe just don't serve it all fancy and wimpy like the pictures there suggest. Go strong with the hearty mug like it's meant to be enjoyed. The dish is an humita, which is something like a tamale. Simple and filling, it hit the spot.

Though the food and drink were nice, the real highlight for me was the view. Pretty amazing. Definitely something you don't get in the city.

Pit Stop at Mitad del Mundo

2008-10-05T10:41:00.000-07:00

On our way between Quito and Hacienda Pinsaqui we made a quick stop at Mitad del Mundo. I mean, you have to, right? Would be foolish to be in the vicinity and miss out on this iconic souvenir and photo opportunity. So we shelled out our $2 entrance fees and strolled in.

What made our visit interesting was the wild weather. It was windy and foggy, with some brief bursts of mist, too.

Had a somewhat otherworldly feel.

We snapped a few obligatory shots ...

... assumed a few obligatory poses ...

... and snagged a couple obligatory t-shirts (though, sadly, they don't really sell the short, extra wide sizes that I can readily get here in the U.S.)

... and we listened to a few minutes of Hermanos Nunez before departing.

All in all, a nice visit. Maybe took 45 minutes to an hour total. Definitely glad we made the stop.

Good News from American Airlines - "PriorityAAccess Privileges"

2008-09-24T05:25:00.000-07:00

This is welcome news to me. One little thing to make the airport experience a bit easier. Nice work, American.

Click for larger image size

Review: Flatotel (NYC)

2008-09-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Some rooms here might merit a 4-star rating, but room 910 gets 3.

I wanted to like this place more, but it fell short on a couple of fundamental things.

On the positive side:

- the room was huge

- the bed was huge and comfortable

- you can open the window a little bit (I love fresh air, so this is great for me)

- the bathroom is big and modern

- they have a nice little flat screen tv in the lobby near the elevators, which does help distract you during what can be kind of a long wait for the car to arrive

- there is an mini fridge and microwave in the room (and the brilliant, well stocked Cafe Duke is a 1 minute walk away, so giddy-up)

On the negative side:

- there is no mini bar in the room (I prefer the fridge anyway, but it's worth mentioning since some people need the mini bar)

- the TV is dated and the reception is rough on a few channels

- the temperature control in the shower stinks out loud

- there is no wireless internet and room 910 did not have an ethernet jack, even though the front desk and the guy who trucked up a cable to my room tried telling me it did. There were a couple of dial up jacks, but really? 2008? $535 room? Dial up? No.

Add an internet connection and this is easily 4-star for me. A colleague I was traveling with had a better experience, getting an enormous room with a full kitchen and living room (and a working internet connection). So, check out your room carefully before unpacking and maybe request an upgrade or something.

Micro Review: Cafe Duke (51st St., NYC)

2008-09-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

Note: This also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Brilliant. I was staying at Flatotel, which provides a mini fridge and mini microwave in the room, but no mini bar. I checked in at 11:15 pm and I wanted to get some water, maybe a juice, something small to eat in the morning. Nothing big. I ask the front desk guy where I might find a little store. He directs me to Cafe Duke. I was hoping for at least a hole in the wall to buy a bottle of water, but I found an oasis of variety in a clean, well lit place. Belgian beers. Fine cheeses. At least 5 different kinds of refrigerated Starbucks drinks. Genius. I might even elect to stay at Flatotel again (really just a 3 star experience) just so I could make another run to Cafe Duke.

The Afternoon We Spent in Otavalo (Ecuador) - Part II of II

2008-09-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

(See also Part I)

After schlepping our souvenirs back to the Pinsaqui and resting for a bit, we had a taxi take us over to Estadio Municipal, which is an unassuming little place from the outside.

We paid our $2 each for tickets and walked into the stadium via this inclined ramp, which does a nice job of keeping you in suspense.

The big reveal, though, is kind of underwhelming. Altogether the crowd couldn't have been more than 100 people.

And I think it's safe to say that they don't regularly have American couples strolling in to catch the action.

And though it wasn't necessarily the kind of pulsing hotbed of futbol enthusiasm I had envisioned, it was still a pretty cool setting to catch a game. Sun starting to set. Hills all around. Locals getting pretty animated.

We watched a little more than half of the game then headed back into town on foot.

Being a bit off the main track, we got to experience some behind-the-scenes Otavalo. You can see that the food/produce market serving the locals is a bit more straightforward and less of a spectacle than el mercado artesanal.

And we ultimately found our way back to the main market, which was in pack up mode. Folks who were already deep into a long day clearly still had a couple hours of clean up ahead of them.

All in all, we were glad to see more of Otavalo than just the famous market.

The Afternoon We Spent in Otavalo (Ecuador) - Part I of II

2008-09-03T05:09:00.001-07:00

If you start to research things to do in Ecuador other than visiting the Galapagos Islands, you'll find that Otavalo is on most people's short list of places worth checking out. And what you hear most about Otavalo is they have one serious mercado. I enjoy a good mercado as much as the next guy, and the descriptions I read about the Otavalo market, combined with the promise of rustic relaxation I got from the Hacienda Pinsaqui website, were enough to sway my decision to finish this Ecuador trip in Otavalo rather than Cuenca (maybe next time, Cuenca).

(Side note: see also my write up about our stay at Hacienda Pinsaqui)

The market didn't disappoint. A whole roast pig here. Thousands of blankets there. Interesting blend of traditional and modern dress everywhere. It was a nice cultural buffet for the senses.

If you are thinking of checking Otavalo out, here are a few quick tips:

1. It won't take up the whole day. Unless you are really, really into checking out every single stall, you might spend a good 2 - 4 hours walking around the market.

2. You don't need to stay right in Otavalo. We looked at a couple of places that are right in town, but I'm glad we stayed at Pinsaqui. Cabs are easy enough to get to/from the Pinsaqui, taking maybe 5 - 10 minutes and costing $5 or so.

3. Don't miss the little plaza on the edge of the market (some photos below). It's a good place to catch your breath, maybe grab a bite to eat (empanadas to go from Empanadas Argentinas, for example) and soak in the sights.

The food and produce section of the market. Visually pleasing, but I can't say we sampled any of this stuff.

One of the many rows of local vendors.

We actually snagged a few things from these folks. Something about the blue rugs sucked me in. It was different and not something you saw at every stall.

And we bought 3 of these bowls, too, though we saw nicer stuff later on. We were in early, high-adrenaline mode and couldn't control ourselves.

This woman was actually much more pleasant than you might think given her demeanor in this shot. I swear we didn't force her to take this picture.

I wouldn't say these were the best empanadas we've ever had, but they hit the spot. And the restroom was fairly nice, so that was a bonus.

This is one of my favorite shots from the trip. Don't try passing any bogus notes to these ladies.

We found this plaza pretty late during our first run through the market. Nice place to relax and rest the feet.

And luckily we saw this sign promoting that day's soccer match. I love checking out things that might be a bit off the main tourist track and Judy is a trooper when I get into this mode, so we checked it out. More on that in Otavalo, part II.

Travelogue: Quito - Climbing Basilica del Voto Nacional

2008-09-01T07:03:00.001-07:00

View of La Basilica from the ground

One of the things that strongly influenced my choice of Quito for our Summer 2007 vacation was the writing of Megan Lyles. I found her blog during my research and enjoyed all of her posts about Central and South America. But something in her write up about the Basilica del Voto really inspired me. That, I said to myself, is cool.

And, after having the chance to visit the Basilica ourselves, I have to say that this was one experience that lives up to the hype. Lyles' post is descriptive, with a few good photos, too, that give you a sense of what to expect. But it still didn't fully prepare me for the reality.

It is a truly unique experience. An opportunity to challenge yourself a bit. Simultaneous physical exertion and phobia confrontation. Fear of heights? Fear of untimely accidental death? Concern about old, potentially compromised ironwork at altitude? Here's your chance to tackle them all.

I should have jotted some notes at the time to capture exactly how this all went down, but I'll do my best to piece it together a year later.

First, I think you take an elevator up a couple of 'floors' if you will. Then you start climbing a spiral metal staircase.

That brings you up into the area behind the clock faces.

You can pause a bit here on a cat walk, read some graffiti and check out pictures from the construction of the Basilica.

The spiral staircase then continues up another level.

At that point you're pretty high up and have some open room to move and take shots of the amazing city views in all directions. And you can grab an iron ladder that goes up some more.

This next level is a crazy web of thin beams and wire netting.

At this point it might be useful to take a step back and provide some perspective.

And here you can crawl literally up to the edges of the little room you're in and take some pictures of the city.

I gotta be honest - even if my conscience didn't prevent me from marking up a Basilica with random "I was here" notes, I don't think I'd want to contort myself the way you would need to in order to reach outside at this point and start writing. Pulling the trigger on my camera was about as much non-essential movement I could rally for at this stage.

Then it's time to try the other side of the Basilica.

Your first move here is to walk across a pretty narrow wooden bridge suspended over the spine of the building.

This angle gives you a better sense of what you're dealing with.

Once across the bridge you have a pretty steep staircase / ladder to contend with.

The view from above again provides a bit more perspective on how steep this really is.

Now you've got a two-stage climb on the exterior of the tower to get up into the 'observation deck' (probably a better term for it).

Stage one - view from below

Stage two - view from above

This is where you end up.

Again, to get your bearings:

What I find brilliant and refreshing about this whole experience is I simply can't imagine that it's possible in the U.S. First, we paid ~$2 for admission. Then we just walked in. Didn't sign any waivers, weren't required to wear safety goggles, body harnesses or any kind of protective head gear. Just paid $2, hopped in the elevator and climbed around. During times when most entertainment seems to be either overly choreographed, sanitized or outright neutered due to fear of litigation, the absolute freedom this offered was almost staggering. Now, true adventurers can scoff at this perspective. Admittedly, we weren't exactly rock climbing in Canmore, but for a couple of domesticated urbanites, this was cool. I'd highly recommend it.

Review: San Soo Gab San (Chicago)

2008-08-31T10:13:00.000-07:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

If you just want to get down to business with some fried foods and barbecued meat, San Soo Gab San is your place. Come hungry and wear your play clothes. You're going to walk out of here full and smelling of meat.

Judy was pretty excited to be here

San Soo Gab San is an unassuming, no nonsense joint that focuses on the food. Period. The non-atmosphere is the atmosphere. You sit in twenty or thirty year old wooden booths and tables. The main design element is the construction-zone orange industrial strength exhaust hoods that suck out the fog of meat smoke. You are served by efficient, unsmiling, matter of fact waitresses. This place means business. And that's fine.

When full and all the hoods are firing, the place truly hums. It's smoky, noisy and energetic with the smell of meat in the air and 22 oz. bottles of OB all around. It makes me happy.

Once you order you will experience a food avalanche.

Get an appetizer or two - say the mandu, or the agedash tofu.

Agedash tofu

Get a plate of meat.

And definitely go the cook it yourself route. They are old school here. You're working with a charcoal or wood grill. Let the fancy places have their built in gas grill tables. We've got bus boys running around with bowls of fire and hot grill faces.

Don't forget that you will also get 15 - 20 miscellaneous side dishes (called Panchan). Every square inch of table space is covered in food.

However, while my wife and I liked this place just fine, in the interest of full disclosure I do have to say it didn't quite pass muster with my Korean in laws. They found it average at best. But then, they are used to the 'more meat buzzer' that is installed at every booth of their favorite place in the suburbs. Push it and signal to the waitress with your hands how many more pounds of meat you want. Hard to argue with the brilliance of that kind of efficiency. If San Soo Gab San adds the meat buzzer I'll take the in-laws back and see if we can't up this to a 5-star review.

Review: sixteen (Chicago)

2008-08-31T09:05:00.001-07:00

Main dining room

Note: this also appears with my reviews on Yelp.

If you're going to sixteen you have to be comfortable with two things:

1. It is expensive. e.g. Brunch is $95/plate before drinks, tax and tip

2. At least 50% of that price is a "wow" premium for being in the Trump space. The food is good, but you're paying for the Experience. For my money, the food is better at the Four Seasons brunch. But sixteen's atmosphere and views are tough to beat.

Main dining room

Service
Accommodating and pleasant. I called twice with changes to our reservation within 24 hours of our seating and both times they were unflinching in taking care of us. Despite changing the time we wanted to come in and the number of people in our party, they still put us in a table on the window in the main dining room. Once seated, our server was a pro. Almost overly helpful, but you could tell he was sincere and we were definitely catered to.

Couldn't wait to dive in before taking the picture - those bite marks are mine, it didn't come pre-nibbled

Space / Atmosphere
Striking. Open flow with floor to ceiling windows that capitalize on the panoramic downtown views. The key design elements like the wall of wine or the massive chandelier are bold without being over the top dominant or distracting. The space is big enough to accommodate them. This is an instance where a 25 foot crystal chandelier fits.

Wall of wine corridor between brunch buffet stations and dining room

Food

They had a nice range of the usual suspects for this kind of occasion. The omelet station, the carving station, the sushi station, great desserts, etc. What was there was certainly good. However, by comparison, the variety isn't quite as extensive as what you see at the Four Seasons. Not sure what it says about me and my tastes, but two of the items I enjoyed most were from the kids station -- mac and cheese and sliders (you can take the boy out of the small town ... ).

Damn tasty

Net: sixteen is a good option if you're willing to splash out and your party really appreciates the environment. We were there for Father's Day brunch and all things considered it was worth it.

Review: La Cocina de Frida (Chicago)

2008-08-31T08:50:00.001-07:00

Just seated - which was as good as it was going to get tonight

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Unrealized potential. That's how I'd sum up La Cocina de Frida. We wanted to like it, but across the board it fell a bit short of expectations. This place should be good but isn't.

Space

Nice room, but could use some fans

It's nice inside, but on a night when it was mid 70s outside and the dining room was full, it seemed hot and stuffy. The air was thick. They need ceiling fans. So we waited for a table on the covered patio, which is the highlight of the place. There's nice spacing among the tables, soft lighting and an interesting water element involving a copper tube with multiple punctures that, depending upon your tastes and disposition, is either clever or tacky (I am inclined to call it clever).

The patio - Frida's redeeming feature

Service
They were over matched. I'd suggest they consider closing off a section or two and serving 20 tables well rather than serving 40 tables poorly. Their small, 3 or 4 man kitchen and handful of servers were so obviously in the weeds it was sad. Everything was very slow. Our server was repeatedly apologetic in an awkwardly desperate kind of way as we both knew there was really nothing she could do. The ship was going down.

Help - we're drowning

Food

Chuletas de Puerco Manchamanteles - almost good

A mixed bag and ultimately not very inspiring. I find myself trying very hard to come up with positives. The menu is limited, but their 'as you like it' enchilada options might be great for someone who is confident mixing and matching fillings. I wasn't feeling that confident, so I went with las chuletas de puerco manchamanteles, which would've been a great dish if the chops weren't over cooked. The sauce and the grilled pineapple -- and the fact that I was starving -- made them edible, though. My wife's pollo en chile cacahuate was very spicy, so just know what you're getting into there. Oh, and tell them to just hold the complementary chips and salsa they start you with. They are terrible. Hard, flavorless chips and watery salsa. They really shouldn't serve them.

Review: Legal Sea Foods (Boca Raton, FL)

2008-06-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Quality food served up at a premium price in an empirically nice yet soulless atmosphere.

Legal Sea Foods is one of any number of 'masstige' restaurant chains that you can find in virtually any semi-upscale commercial complex these days. Everything is nice in that familiar, non-distinct way, but there is little evidence of true, original style or flair. Depending upon your perspective I suppose you could interpret that as either an indictment or a recommendation. It is what it is.

Ambiance / Decor
Decent. Has all the generic trappings that have become commonplace. Dark woods, nice semi-dramatic bar displays, soft and strategically placed lighting, etc.

Service
Inconsistent, but more good than bad. We arrived around 9:55pm and asked if we were too late to order food. The manager was quick with a genuine 'absolutely not' and the hostess showed us over to a nice booth. Our server was friendly and conversational when he was around. We missed him for a couple of stretches, but that's not entirely unexpected given the time we were there. I know there is a whole list of things that the closing shift needs to take care of and I'm sure that's part of what he was off doing when he wasn't checking in with us.

Food / Drink
Mostly good. They nailed the important stuff and surprised us a bit with their wine selection. Only misstep was with a salad, so not the end of the world.

The Boston baked scrod was solid, exactly as I would expect this comforting classic to be prepared. My wife enjoyed the crab cake combo with shrimp and scallops, noting that the crab cakes included big chunks of crab meat, not just the shreds you often get in that kind of dish. The chopped Greek salad was largely good. I personally like the shredded preparation here, which is simply easier to eat and lets you get all the flavors of the salad with every forkful. But they were a little heavy with what tasted like a very ordinary, mass produced dressing. I ate it and I liked it for the most part, but it could have been better.

On the wine list we were happy to see a Malbec and a Cava by the glass. The Cava in particular was nice because it became a great Plan B after the mojito my wife ordered arrived a little strong and syrupy.

Value
It isn't inexpensive, but I also know that Legal's prioritizes top quality seafood. So you get what you pay for in that respect. Just kind of a shame that the rest of the experience isn't as exquisite as the food is. When you spend $100 for dinner, there should be something a little special about the evening. But then, this place is attached to the Boca Raton Mall, so it

Avis Lost a Long Time Customer Today Over a B*llshit $10.85 Refuel Charge

2008-06-23T19:55:00.000-07:00

Before I go into all the details of this story, I’ll share the highlights:

- I had a horrible experience with Avis at the Fort Lauderdale airport today regarding a bogus $10.85 fuel charge.

- Because of this experience I will never rent a car from Avis again.

- I am so pissed off by how ridiculous this charge is and how callous the Avis personnel were about maintaining that charge that I will go out of my way to share this story with anyone who will listen. I will also post these notes in every relevant forum I can find. I will spend time worth many, many multiples of $10.85 to balance the karmic books here and settle the score as best I can with those unthinking, avaricious jackals at Avis who set asinine policies like this.

- This whole thing could have been avoided if Avis empowered their employees to use common sense and consider the big picture implications of isolated transaction details.

- But the 3 employees with whom I attempted to discuss this issue clearly had no interest whatsoever in understanding my position or trying to ensure I, a long time Avis ‘Preferred’ customer, left the counter remotely satisfied with my Avis rental experience. It was so clear that I was dealing with consistent and complete institutional disregard that I suspect it must be a deliberate strategy Avis is implementing to defraud their customers of every last penny they can. It was as if these employees had sat through multiple training sessions instructing them to anticipate situations just like this and respond simply and repeatedly with a dispassionate ‘there’s nothing I can do’.

All that said, here’s what the full story of what happened:

I rented a Toyota Prius for 3 days. I drove it a total of 107 miles. I filled the tank at the Emerald Hills Shell station at 2600 N. 29th Ave. in Hollywood, right off exit 21 on I-95 north. According to Google maps, this is approximately 5.5 miles south of Avis' FLL airport location.

Click screenshot below to link over to actual map @ Google Maps

It took 2.67 gallons of gas, which translates to 38.01 mpg (107 miles - 5.5 miles = 101.5 miles / 2.67 gallons). I then drove the 5.5 miles to the Avis rental return area. Assuming I achieved the same 38.01 mpg for that 5.5 mile trip as I used for the previous 101.5 miles, I would have used 0.14 gallons of gas. (This is a generous calculation since the route between the station and the drop off was 100% highway and off ramps whereas the previous 101.5 miles were rather varied.) According to the Toyota website (see the 'capacities' tab), the Prius’ tank capacity is 11.9 gallons. So I would have returned the car with its tank 98.8% full. Avis check in guy tells me in a disinterested monotone that ‘the tank isn’t full.’ I tell him that I filled it at the Shell station @ exit 21. He repeats in a mumble ‘it isn’t full’ and walks away. Having been summarily dissed by the Avis check in guy, I realize there is no use trying to engage this gentleman further so I head inside to appeal for reason at the desk. But the agent there tells me there is nothing she can do about it. Okay. I ask to speak with someone who can do something about and she goes to call over a supervisor, Glenda W. Glenda W. also tells me there is nothing she can do about it. If the tank isn’t registering as full then she cannot reverse the charge. I review with her again the details of my story. Drove the car 107 miles. It’s a Prius. I put in 2.67 gallons of gas at the Shell station at exit 21. You cannot be serious about charging me $10.85 for refueling this car. She’s unmoved. I let her know that Avis has had 100% of my car rental business for years and this $10.85 charge is about to not only flip that to 0% immediately but inspire me to let everyone who cares to listen know about this crap experience I’ve had with Avis. I implore her to consider things for a moment from a bigger picture marketing perspective and think about what the best option is for handling this situation. She offers me a $25 discount off my next rental with Avis. This misses the point. If the $10.85 isn’t reversed, there will be no next rental with Avis. She says that’s all she can do. Okay then. Well, then I guess this is all I can do.

In summary, returning a car 98.8% full triggers a fuel charge. For me this charge was $10.85. By my calculations the car’s tank was at most depleted by 0.14 gallons, which means I was charged a cool $74.99 per gallon. And for $10.85 Avis has lost a long time customer. Hello, Enterprise (even though I can’t stand those insipid “Hello, Enterprise? I’m at the Repair Shop” commercials with the generic “Repair Shop” vinyl banners from Fast Signs hung up in the background).

Mini-Review: Panera Bread (Boca Raton)

2008-06-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews on Yelp.

This place had surprisingly good food (maybe due to somewhat low ingoing expectations), mostly friendly service and a clean, comfortable feel from the generically pleasant aesthetic that is increasingly common in today's QSR joints. Also had a busy vibe on the Saturday morning we were there due to what appeared to be a local investing club with their laptops all fired up and the stock pick banter flowing freely.

My wife liked her strawberry poppyseed salad and my Mediterranean veggie sandwich was excellent.

Mini Review: Nippers Sports Bar & Grill (Boca Raton)

2008-06-22T07:59:00.000-07:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Nippers is a brilliant late night take out option.

If, like me, you find yourself hungry around midnight at the Boca Raton Marriott after closing down Absinthe with a couple of ill advised black russians, you also might be quite dismayed to learn that the hotel does NOT have all hours room service. However, as I was advised by a wise and empathetic gentleman working the front desk's overnight shift, Nipper's can save your drunk hungry ass. They will bring food straight to your room. We got 6 mini burgers and 8 mozzarella sticks plus a couple bottles of water for $30 (not including tip). Just what the doctor ordered. And it got here in less than 10 minutes. Genius.

Review: The London NYC (New York)

2008-06-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp

Bottom line: stylish place, but may not be the best option if you need to spend significant time trying to get some work done, so be clear about what you need in your room because there can be significant differences in layout and features.

Also, I have no idea what the usual rates are here, but wow, if you can avoid staying here during Internet Week, or any other high occupancy week, I'd recommend it. Base rate was $760. Yes, $760. Add tax, internet and one $40 (!) breakfast of granola, berries and coffee and you quickly get to an $881 final bill. WTF?

(Quick tangential rant: My wife put the full outrageousness of this in perspective for me when she noted that the $881 paid for this one night's accommodation is roughly equivalent to the full year supplies allowance of 9 classrooms in the elementary school where she teaches.)

Back to the review ...

Pros of room 3214:
(1) Nice layout for a leisure stay, with separate living area

(2) Funky mini-bar with an upscale retro feel, like if Dick Van Dyke's living room were redone in 2008, the mini bar and mirror above it might be prominently featured there.

(3) Also, it has windows that open a bit and you can even get a nice cross breeze going b/c there are windows on opposite walls.

Note the glimpse of Central Park

Cons of room 3214:
(1) No functional work area(!) Wow. See picture below. I had to create an ad hoc work station, sitting on the leather trunk and propping up my laptop on the foot of the bed. Sub-optimal, to say the least. My colleague's room, though had a regular work station. He also had two twin beds that resembled a summer camp set up, albeit a wicked fancy summer camp, so there are trade offs. All in all, I'd probably take my layout w/ the king size bed, but it really depends upon the nature of your trip.

(2) No MSNBC. Why? My news options are then Lou Dobbs or Fox News? Ugh.

Nice, sleek bathroom

Cool view

Micro Review: Faces & Names (New York)

2008-06-08T07:53:00.000-07:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp

Just dropped in here for a very quick bite to eat while talking shop during a business trip. It's right next door to London NYC, which was convenient. I'd recommend the vegetarian spring rolls as really pretty tasty and the tuna wrap was fair. Also, they whip up a mean onion ring and my colleague seemed to enjoy the mini burgers.

Mini Review: Flourish Bakery (Chicago)

2008-06-08T07:42:00.000-07:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp

Flourish decently fills a gap in the Bryn Mawr take-out ecosystem. Spending $40 a crack for take out @ Little Mexican or Little India adds up after a while, and Apart is great, but variety is the spice of life so being able to get a couple of good panini w/ sides (though kind of small) for $17 is nice. Just don't expect them to be fast. At 8pm on a Friday we were the only ones ordering food and it was a good 10 minutes before they were done. But they were tasty (the caprese and monte cristo). In particular, the honey vinaigrette wrinkle within the traditional pesto based caprese was a nice little somethin' somethin'.

And this is definitely a take out place rather than an eat in place, unless you're really looking for a pit stop on your walk from Andersonville to the Lake or something. Despite the reasonably attractive retro styled macro elements, there is something distinctly generic and uninspiring about the seating area.

Mini-Review: Westin, Portland OR

2008-05-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Spent only one night here, and a brief one at that, but enjoyed this place. Has a distinct boutique feel for a Westin, at least in the common areas. Rooms are more standard, but still nice enough. Good spot.

Mini-Review: Westin Times Square (New York)

2008-05-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Rooms just as nice as the W without the accompanying circus in the lobby.

Good work space with comfortable chair. Internet access is kind of a rip @ $14.95 on top of a $400 room, though.

Morning room service is friendly and on time.

Also, as some others on Yelp have noted, the ability to open the window at least a little bit is very nice.

Mini-Review: Intercontinental Miami

2008-05-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

I stayed here for a conference that was being held at the hotel, so it was convenient. If I had to do it all over again I'd look for alternatives.

It has nice common areas, decent but dated rooms and the worst shower curtain/rod configuration possible.

The room decor felt like some odd blend of Golden Girls and Arsenio Hall.

The work space was poor, with a low set chair that would be better suited in the restaurant than under the desk.

And the shower curtain was ridiculous. Whoever conceived the idea of doing a curved, flat shower rod with the short shower curtain hooks is a genius. It took me like 45 seconds to get the thing in place because the friction of moving the curtain was pulling the hooks out of the curtain holes. Just a comedy of errors that is so needlessly stupid it's frustrating.

Room service was good and friendly. On a random note, they have little salt and pepper grinders that you get w/ your meal. Nice little touch.

And, if you're looking for some casual / quick eats in the area, I recommend checking the reviews of JD N on Yelp

Mini-Review: Arun's Thai Restaurant (Chicago)

2008-05-26T08:56:00.001-07:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

For 2.5 hours (it takes awhile to get through 12 courses) this past Saturday night we felt like judges on Iron Chef.

The food had its highs and lows, which I attribute more to my unorthodox tastes than anything else. Highlights included a beef curry and rice that was exceptional. Every other beef curry I have ever had was canned Chef Boyardee by comparison. Phenomenal. Also, the coconut and ginger concoction served within a leaf (didn't catch what kind) was sublime.

Service was good, but not spectacular. Not sure if our primary server was new or if the place was understaffed for the night, but we had a couple of hiccups and prolonged absences along the way.

Definitely a unique experience, glad we went.

Ride in a Coco Taxi - Havana

2008-05-07T03:49:00.000-07:00

I just uploaded the first clip from our trip to Cuba. This is footage from one of our rides in a Coco taxi, which is essentially a moped with a semi-enclosed seating area for passengers that resembles a hollowed out coconut (hence 'Coco taxi'). I highly recommend the Coco taxis as an alternative to the regular taxis. The open-air experience is brilliant.

A couple of caveats about the video:

- It's bouncy. Pretty difficult to keep the camera steady in the back of a Coco taxi.
- It isn't particularly interesting. There is no commentary - the audio is nothing more than revving moped engine and wind.
- It's raw. I haven't edited anything here - just uploaded the straight 4 minute shot.

Travel Casserole Stats Thus Far in 2008

2008-03-16T06:25:00.000-07:00

I was just checking out some Google Analytics reports and was a little surprised to see that visits to this blog yesterday included people from 10 different countries. This isn't something I check regularly, but that has to be a record for this lil' blog. Intrigued, I broadened the time range to year-to-date to see what was what. Here's what I found:

Travelogue: Velada Libertaria, Quito, Ecuador

2008-03-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

When I booked our trip to Ecuador for the second week of August last year, I knew we would be there for Primer Grito de Independencia, an important holiday when Ecuadorians celebrate their country’s independence. (I’m no historian, but an approximate U.S. analog for this event might be the Batte of Lexington & Concord that kicked off the Revolutionary War. It was a key milestone on the path to national independence but wasn’t yet the point where true independence was achieved.)

I certainly hoped we would stumble into some interesting experiences by virtue of being in the right place at the right time, but I had no way of knowing just how cool and unique of an event we were in for.

During the day of August 9th an energy and vibe of anticipation was palpable throughout Old Town – everyone was getting ready for the evening’s festivities. Every plaza, from the big (Plaza de la Indpendencia, Plaza de San Blas, Plaza de San Francisco, Plaza de Santo Domingo) to the small (Plaza Sebastian de Benalcàzar – the one right outside our apartment) had something going on – Music, street performers, food and artists. These ranged from the formal, official and impressive …

… to the very much unofficial, impromptu and charming.

Our night kicked off by hearing the band playing in Plaza Sebastian de Benalcàzar, which is maybe 100 yards up the street.

The place we rented had a great open loft layout and a wall of French door windows, which were all open. As the sounds of music followed by the crackle and smoke of fireworks filled the apartment, the sensation was almost of being suspended in the air floating along on the city’s energy. Just an incredibly unique and exhilarating experience to be so close to and immersed in this celebration.

With that inspiration to get out into the thick of the action, we headed into the streets and literally let the flow carry us.

The entire scene was a wave of festivity spectacularly set: thousands of people – proud families, blissful couples, wandering travelers – filling the streets as the magnificent colonial architecture was floodlit to amazing effect and the illuminated hills that roll out from the city provided a stunning backdrop to it all.

Everywhere you turned there were street performers entertaining adults and mesmerizing children. These guys on stilts got a lot of my attention.

As we wound our way back to the apartment, we started thinking about food, not unlike the folks we saw taking a break to grab sausages from street carts.

We weren’t quite brave enough for that, but we found a nice little family run place and sat down for a couple of empanadas. I didn’t get a shot of it until the next day – not sure why. Perhaps it was camera fatigue after taking a few hundred pictures already that night. But this is a look at the place from the next day.

All in all it was a very cool way to spend our last night in Quito. If you are considering a trip there in the summer and can arrange your schedule to be there for Velada Libertaria, I would highly recommend it. And I am personally keeping Quito in the consideration set for 2009’s summer vacation – the bicentennial celebration of Primer Grito de Independencia should be something special.

*****
Some additional Quito / Ecuador resources and links:

- El Comercio a web site with news and information about Quito, Ecuador, Latin America and beyond. Also the source behind this video vignette from Velada Libertaria 2007 that I found YouTube:

- And a couple of books I found helpful during my trip to Ecuador:

Mini Review: Cafe Mosaico, Quito, Ecuador

2008-03-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

Working from the recommendations in our Moon Handbooks Ecuador guide, Judy and I went to Cafe Mosaico on our first real night in Quito last summer. As recommended, we tried to get there early, arriving with maybe 30 or 40 minutes of fading daylight left. We were lucky enough to get a table on the balcony, though it wasn't one of the few along the perimeter railing. Nonetheless, the views were phenomenal and if I could do it over I would have made certain I got there even earlier to really savor the sinking sun over a couple of hours rather than just catching its final fall.

I didn't have my act together in terms of properly operating my damn camera, so I only got a few decent pictures. The one below isn't one of them, but I'm including it anyway because you can still get some sense of the interesting ceiling this place had -- rows of empty wine bottles converted into simple, cool light fixtures. A very chill effect.

This one, too, is a bit blurry, but if you can make it out (or better still, click through to Flickr and check out a larger version of it), what you're seeing is view of the balcony tables from inside the restaurant.

I remember having a pretty good burger and some average red wine. It wasn't super cheap, but it wasn't a rip off, either. Especially when you factor in the setting. Our server was pleasant, too, so I'm not sure what these people are talking about, because it sounds like they had a very different experience than I did.

One thing that I can easily see becoming annoying is the stream of people moving out onto the balcony to get a look and take some pictures. We saw a few people hog the scenic viewpoint a bit longer than was polite, which then creates a traffic jam around the tables while folks are trying to eat. And you can probably bank on at least one photographer who thinks he's better than he is being a bit ostentatious and boorish about 'capturing his vision', nevermind if his ass is pressed uncomfortably against someone's shoulder for a few beats. So you should probably recalibrate your expectations regarding personal space before you head over here, otherwise you could be setting yourself up for a little frustration. But if you're prepared to take it in stride and soak in the setting, I would highly recommend a late afternoon / early evening visit here for the view.

Other links and notes:

*Frommer's has a brief write up on Cafe Mosaico you can check out.

* For some sunset photos, do check out the Cafe Mosaico web site

* Or check out the 68 photos currently on Flickr

UPDATE 8/10/08: I found a video clip I took during out meal at Cafe Mosaico and am embedding it below.

Our Stay Near Otavalo, Ecuador at the Hacienda Pinsaqui

2008-02-23T09:48:00.000-08:00

With a new vacation coming up I feel the urgency to finally get some notes up about the last one (August '07, yes, I've been derelict in getting my thoughts organized here). Other than the posts about our Quito apartment rental, I really haven't done much. So this begins a new flurry of posts (hopefully) over the next 5 weeks or so before we head to Nicaragua.

Last August we finished our Ecuador trip with 2 days and 3 nights in the Otavalo area. The thinking was that after spending 5 days and nights in Quito, we could use a couple of days of pure relaxation to decompress before heading back home. Working from Moon Handbooks Ecuador as well as the Insight Guide Ecuador, along with some online research, I had narrowed the options down to these three:

* Hacienda Cusin

* Casa Mojanda

* Hacienda Pinsaqui

Hacienda Cusin was actually booked (and I was inquiring ~6 weeks in advance). Good for them that business is that strong and my decision just got 33% easier.

I really liked Casa Mojanda's story and mission and the views looked spectacular, but I couldn't quite get a complete sense of their rooms. They seemed like they could be a bit more spartan and austere than what I was aiming for to wrap up the vacation, so I went with the Pinsaqui.

We actually wound up visiting Betty at Casa Mojanda during out time around Otavalo, dropping off some supplies for their school. And Judy had a chance to make friends with their dogs.

.

All in all a good little visit. We took about 20 or so shots while we were there, starting with this one.

After an interesting ride from Quito to Pinsaqui (a subject for another post at another time, but the gist is it took probably two or three times as long as it should and there were tense moments between us and the husband/wife driving team who were giving us a ride), we arrived at Pinsaqui just in time for dinner. Between the elegant surroundings and the relief at finally being there the meal that ensued was probably the most enjoyable and appreciated one of our trip. I wish I took better notes of what we had, but I know there was locro (which was simple yet amazing and we had it each night), some steak and a Chilean red wine. (Just writing about this I feel a wave of relaxation recurring ...)

But back to the Hacienda Pinsaqui itself. It was truly an oasis of calm for us.

You access it from a main road that runs north-south to and from Otavalo, but once you are through the gate and onto the beautifully landscaped grounds you're immediately transported to a different place and time.

It isn't hard to picture El Libertador swinging through on one of his trips back and forth to Bogota, as the Pinsaqui website claims was rather common.

It has a comfortable, rustic kind of elegance. The whole complex feels lived in and authentic, not overly manicured and staged. Five minutes of walking around the property soaking in the tranquility can be more relaxing and restorative than a full day of couch loafing in Chicago.

Our room, #8 I believe, was huge. High ceilings, solid walls a foot thick or more, our own fireplace and jacuzzi plus a view of the back gardens. Incredible value. (One interesting note is that you do need to ask the staff to prepare the jacuzzi for you, giving them a good hour or more of advance notice. The process is kind of amusing and charming in its no-nonsense kind of way: they run a hose from the kitchen through your room and into the jacuzzi.).

But if you plan to stay here, be prepared for a hiccup or two in your experience. On our second night there we had trouble with the jacuzzi. The helpful staff tried a number of things to get it working, but it just wasn't meant to be. Missing that was disappointing, but having a roaring fire with some sheep skin rugs to lounge on in your living room is a decent plan B.

The restaurants are probably more enjoyable for their atmosphere than their food (which is decent, just not spectacular --- aside from the locro). But altogether the dining experience is unique and refreshing. There is, to me anyway, a palpable sense of being among travelers rather than tourists. The breakfast room with its mammoth fireplace serves simple items. The vibe here is one of people getting ready for various excursions and day trips --- whether that's to the market, the Volcan Imbabura or Laguna de San Pablo.

Each night in the dining room we heard 3 or 4 languages from the 7 or 8 tables in the lodge-like setting as you shared a meal with folks from South America, Europe and North America all in one little spot.

Finally, they also have a 'cavern bar', which unfortunately I didn't bring my own camera to, so I have nothing to go on besides this little image from the Pinsaqui website which I've blown up a little bit, hence the slight blur:

After dinner on our final night there we were invited into the bar by Andres, the property manager who is seemingly there 24/7. We almost declined because we had an early start the next morning (a 4am pickup in order to get to Quito airport by 6:30), but I am glad we didn't because we wound up having a pretty unique experience.

The bar, which if I remember the story correctly is one of the original elements remaining from first construction in 1790, holds maybe 15 - 20 people. On this night there was a group of local musicians, all from an extended family I believe, playing traditional songs of the Ecuadorian Sierra and Otavalo in particular. (Through the marvels of the web and Flickr, you can see a shot of the band here from another traveler who has been there.) During a break between songs Andres provided some of the hacienda's storied history for us and introduced the grandson of the family that has run it since it was a 19th century textile plantation. Also, perhaps a bit exuberant himself from a few adult beverages, he then initiated a group drinking ritual where a single shot glass was passed around the room. Each person (or one person from each couple/group) was to take a shot of the local liquor (which for the life of me right now I cannot remember the name). Suppressing my reflexive instincts to avoid this symbolic but hygienically anachronistic exercise, I took the hit for Judy and myself before passing it along. It was by no means the smoothest cordial I've ever had, but I have to say there was something oddly unifying about doing it side-by-side with the three generations of a Canadian family, the Colombian couple and the French (maybe Swiss?) group who collectively made up the crowd that night. Despite the sense that this whole scene is at least partially contrived, I couldn't help but feel for a moment that we had a small, brief place in the continuum of travelers and two hundred years worth of traditions that those walls have witnessed. And that sense, however fleeting and ephemeral it might be, is one of the primary reasons I travel in the first place.

A Nice Customer Service Gesture from American Airlines

2008-02-18T08:14:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday I was delayed at O'Hare for 4 hours due to some crazy weather. My original flight was delayed, then canceled. But I did receive an automated call from American virtually instantaneously, which allowed me to start the process of getting re-booked on another flight out. And, judging by the scramble in the Admirals Lounge when others saw on the screens that our flight was canceled, this mobile alert gave me a decent head start on the re-booking process. While I ultimately got out of O'Hare 4 hours later than expected, and 28 rows further back in the plane after losing the upgrade that had gone through on my since-canceled flight, I really did figure there wasn't much fault that could be placed on the airline given the weather conditions both in Chicago and New York. You fly that route in January and February, you expect some disruptions.

Today though, I received the email below from American. It does make me wonder a bit about whether there was something besides the weather contributing to the delays last week, but maybe that's just my cynical reflex kicking in. So I think I'll chalk it up as a nice little gesture from them. This covers roughly 2% of the miles I just redeemed for my upcoming trip to Nicaragua. Just 49 more 4-hour delays to go and I'll have another pair of 'economy anytime' tickets in my hot little hands.

February 18, 2008

Dear Mr. Sindlinger:

We know know that you expect on-time departures and arrivals and there is no question
that flight delays are disruptive and frustrating. We are sorry for the interruption
of your travel plans on February 12.

Although we cannot guarantee our schedules because of the many variables associated
with airline operations, we would like to offer a goodwill gesture as an apology and
to encourage you to fly with us again. I have added 3,000 miles to your AAdvantage®
account. You will shortly see the miles posted to your account at
www.AA.com/AAdvantage.

Please also remember that our first responsibility to you is your safety. We will
delay, cancel, reroute, or divert a flight in order to keep this commitment, even if
it brings inconvenience. We appreciate your understanding of this promise.

Thank you for traveling on American. We look forward to serving you again soon.

Sincerely,

B. J. Russell
Customer Relations
American Airlines

Quick Review: Hotel Roger Williams (New York)

2008-02-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

Note: This also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Hotel Roger Williams has a boutique feel in the lobby and mezzanine areas, but there is more of an Ikea-powered dorm room feel to the guest rooms (with a hint of Grandma's house / B&B in the quilts they throw on the beds). Nonetheless, for ~$300 / night, it's a good deal and I would happily stay here again.

Two things I liked:

- Helpful staff. The folks at the front desk were very nice when I asked for some quick and casual dinner suggestions nearby. (Wound up getting a burger from Jackson Hole - liked it)

- 24-hour gym. It's small, but it's open 24-hours.

Two things that could have been better:

- Small work area. It's probably the best that could be done given the size of the room, but if you need to do some serious work or are staying for multiple nights, you might consider another place.

Go Pats!

- Single bathroom lighting option seems to be "romance". Don't get me wrong, that's a nice option to have. But what about a "shaving" option, too, so I can see my face while wielding a razor? The chic bathroom has a mini W-esque feel, but without the dedicated shaving mirror.

Mini Review: Embassy Suites (New York)

2008-02-02T12:33:00.000-08:00

Note: This also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

The Embassy Suites is a comfortable but not inexpensive ($479+ / night) place for longer stays. I just wish it was closer to the parts of Manhattan that I regularly visit. Or that more conferences would be held at Bridgewaters, so I would have more occasion to stay here.

2 good things and one somewhat annoying thing:

- Huge rooms. The two-room suites have a lot of room and a homey layout. Feels a little bit more like an apartment than a hotel room.

More of an ottoman than a coffee table, but worked fine as a dining table for me

Just noticed the A-Ha-esque picture on the wall. That's kind of creepy.

- Excellent gym. Free access included with your stay. Facility is large with plenty of free weights and cardio equipment.

- Mini-bar with weight sensors. First, this is annoying because you can't use it as a fridge by swapping some of their stuff out and stocking it with your own stuff. But what's worse is the calibration on these things can be squirrelly. I was doubled charged for some cashews, but caught it at check out. If you do use the mini-bar, keep track of what you take and scan your bill so you don't get randomly dinged above and beyond.

Mini-review: boloco (Brighton, MA)

2008-01-26T22:11:00.000-08:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.com

I wish we had boloco here when I lived upstairs @ 1932 Beacon # 5 back in the day. Then again, I suppose I would also have needed discretionary income to really enjoy it, so nevermind. What would be best, then, is if we had boloco in Chicago, now.

3 things that struck me about boloco:

Great options
I like options. So being able to pick from among 8 different burrito "treatments" (e.g. the Classic, the Mediterranean and the Bangkok), then pick your main ingredient (beef, chicken, tofu), then pick your size made me happy.

Interesting smoothees
Nice to have a burrito and a smoothee in the same place. Even better when the smoothees are something other than just the routine choices.

The smoothee cups are organic, too, made "entirely of corn"

Fast & friendly service
Got our order within 3 or 4 minutes - surprisingly fast.

Review: The Venetian (Las Vegas)

2008-01-13T14:06:00.000-08:00

Note:this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Like Joe Pantoliano's character at the end of Risky Business who couldn't "go $40 on the artsy fartsy thing", I just can't go 4 stars on the Venetian. 3.5 stars, tops. (Actually, that comparison might not make any sense whatsoever, but I'm leaving it because I love that line for some reason.)

Three main take-aways from my three-night stay at the Venetian:

1. The place is massive.
Public spaces are crawling with people, including the usual assortment of cliche Vegas characters: twits, schmucks, hustlers and greaseballs of all backgrounds (but the jackass factor here was noticeably lower than it was over at the Palms, for whatever that's worth. I'm not a Vegas aficionado, so my grasp of the relative knob factor from property to property is limited at best).

2. The rooms are big and spacious, but weirdly unstylish.
The bed area is fine, but the living room furniture reminded me of my Grandmother's place in Jersey circa 1980. I was looking around for the box of Thin Mints and glass of 7-Up that she always hooked me up with. Had to settle for a Heineken and some Kit Kats out of the mini-bar.

3. The gym is excellent.
It is also expensive @ $80 for a 3-day pass, but excellent. And underused. Only a handful of people there each time I used it. All the equipment options you could want and little competition for using it.

Other assorted notes:

- Bring something to entertain yourself in the check-in line. Maybe a Nintendo DS, your blackberry a yo-yo, whatever. Felt more like an airport security line than checking into a hotel. Yikes.

- Bathrooms are huge and have a nice lil' TV for your viewing pleasure (plus, with their channel lineup you can watch random Asian game shows while you shave. Beat that.)

- Service might need a little prompting if you're not a 'whale'. The key I was given upon check-in didn't work. I learned this after it took 20 minutes to pick up some food to-go at the San Gennaro stop in their food court (took crazy long time for them to serve the 5 people ahead of me) and I had trekked the additional 8 minutes through the casino, over to the elevator and then all the way to the end of the hall to my room (suite 14329). Called the front desk on my cell and they said it could take 30 - 45 minutes for security to come get me into the room. I calmly suggested that wasn't optimal for me. After a brief hold I was then told they'd try to put a rush on it. Wound up waiting only about 5 minutes. But it still kind of stank to be sitting there feeling my dinner getting cold in the bag waiting for security to correct what should be just about the most basic hotel / guest interaction possible.

Would I stay there again?
Sure. Why not? Great gym. Seemed convenient enough to everything I needed to get to. The Grand Canal Shoppes and restaurants in the Piazza San Marco were nice enough. But I really don't have a lot of Vegas experiences to compare it to.

Did it seem like a good value?
Hard to say, as I was here during CES, which is the busiest week of the year for them and probably also when prices are the steepest. Think my (work expensed) room averaged $400/night for the three nights. Not cheap. But the room was bigger than many 1-bedroom city apartments.

Mini-Review: Nove @ the Palms (Las Vegas)

2008-01-13T13:09:00.000-08:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Just a mini-review as I was here under the non-traditional circumstances of a group drinks/dinner (20+ folks) in their upstairs section, and it wasn't their best night.

Nove is an interesting space with some really great views, but the food I had was only okay. Cheese pizza app was mediocre, my salmon was okay, and, just judging by how much pink meat was left on a couple of my colleague's plates, either their dishes weren't that good or the kitchen rushed too much trying to make up for some lost time, giving some folks rarer steaks than they would have liked.

Would need to check this out as part of a smaller group to really give it a fair shake, though.

Review: Enoteca San Marco (Las Vegas)

2008-01-13T13:02:00.000-08:00

View from my table @ Enoteca San Marco

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Overall Impression:
Thought this was a nice place to relax and people watch in the artificial twilight of the Venetian's "St. Mark's Square". Had some good, simple food and experienced sharp, friendly service. Also, just based on a quick scan of the offerings in this square / upscale food court, it seemed to have the best range of vegetarian options.

Highlights / Lowlights:

What was great -

- Food. The somewhat inventive take on caprese salad (see photo) was both visually interesting and tasty. Then the simple pasta dish I had with black pepper and pecorino cheese was understated excellence.

- Service. I experienced team table service, which when done poorly can be chaotic. But everyone here was on their game - a nice balance of friendly and professional.

- Wine. They offer a nice sampling of regional Italian wines, including a nice example of one of my sentimental favorites - Morellino di Scansanso.

What wasn't so great -

- No complaints, really. Maybe it was just the fact that I sorely needed some relative quiet and escape after a day at CES, but I enjoyed a nice simple solo dinner here.

Would I eat here again?
With everything there is to try in Vegas I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to get here, but if I'm at the Venetian again, yes, I'd definitely eat here.

Did it seem like a good value?
One app, one entree, some Pellegrino and a glass of wine for $56 before tip. Not a bargain, but what is in Vegas?

Review: Flatwater Grill (Chicago)

2008-01-13T12:58:00.000-08:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Overall Impression:
Save this place for warm spring / summer nights. Even better if you can expense it. I had a better experience than some other reviewers here (even on a quiet Saturday night in January), but would agree that the value for money isn't delivered unless views are your absolute #1 priority.

Highlights / Lowlights:

What was great -

- Appetizers. We tried both the Aloha Avocado Egg Rolls (fantastic) and the Baked Apple Brie (solid).

Aloha Avocado Egg Rolls - excellent

What wasn't so great -

- Service. More spotty than poor. Our server was friendly enough and mostly attentive, but both he and the runner missed a couple of small details you would like to see nailed, especially on a slow night. For example, our knives weren't changed out when they cleared the apps; and an empty wine glass was left behind when my second glass was delivered. Certainly not end of the world stuff, but when the tab hits ~$150 for two, those are table stakes kind of service details.

- Dessert. The chocolate opera cake was something only real chocolate freaks could love. It was dry and not particularly warm. Really could have swapped it for something out of the frozen section at a 7-11.

Chocolate Opera Cake - disappointing

Essentials:

Food - Mostly good. Great appetizers, solid entrees (halibut and buccatini caprese), disappointing dessert.

Service - Again, mostly good with a few misses. On slow nights your server can either fall into a semi-lethargic rut or give you top notch focus. We got more of the former than the latter.

Amenities:

Space - Low lighting, loungy feel. Almost feels retro sleek in some vague way.

Valet - Beware of these guys. They were AWOL when we arrived (had to pass our keys to the manager who went and got it taken care of for us). And they weren't real personable on the way out. Plus, we saw someone's Mini Cooper go from 0 - 30 in reverse in about 3 seconds. Not that you get real TLC from any valet service, but this guy seemed extra disrespectful.

Would I eat here again?
Maybe for drinks and appetizers in the summer, especially if I can do it on someone else's dime. Otherwise, no. Too many other places to try.

Did it seem like a good value?
Depends on how much of a premium you place on the view. Felt a little steep to me.

Review: Sol de Mexico (Chicago)

2008-01-01T12:40:00.001-08:00

Note this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Overall Impression:
Edgewater needs a place like Sol de Mexico. This is the kind of place you love to 'discover' and tell everyone you know about. Great food, great service, great value. Completely worth driving 38 blocks west and 26 blocks south through a steady snow to get here. During our meal we felt the same kind of rush we had the first time we tried Dorado: that, "are we really getting this kind of dinner experience for this kind of money?" sensation.

Highlights / lowlights:

What was great -

- The Food. Across the board good, from start to finish. We started with a nice guacamole (maybe a little mild if you like a stronger lime / cilantro kick, but still fresh and tasty).

Moved on with a tremendous soup from their special New Year's Eve menu. The check listed it as "Aztec soup", but I think the menu description was pumpkin flower puree and green beans, with a splash of mole. I'm not a soup aficionado and I loved it.

Finally the entrees (see pictures - note the simple yet elegant presentation). I had the Chuleta Manchamanteles (pork chop with mashed potatoes, pineapple and mole)...

... while the wife had Callos en Crema Poblana (scallops in a green sauce). Terrific. Pork was tender, mole was tasty, pineapple provided a fresh, sweet contrast.

- The Service. They were friendly across every contact - from the initial reservation phone call to the greeting at the door and all throughout the meal. Even with a party of 25 - 30 people taking up 75% of their dining room, we still received pleasant and attentive service. Our server (and the kitchen) were also flexible and accommodating, allowing us to order a mix of items from both their regular menu and their special four course NYE menu.

What wasn't so great -

- Only thing I could mention here wasn't Sol de Mexico's fault. Toward the end of their stay, a few of that party of 25 twentysomethings gearing up for a big NYE started playing drinking games. At that point things kind of crossed the line from general, festive youthful exuberance into semi-obnoxious antics more suited for a frat house than a nice restaurant. But given the unique circumstances of timing (NYE) and the party (can't imagine they regularly seat parties of 24+), I imagine this isn't representative of Sol de Mexico's clientele behavior

Scorecard:

Two Critical Questions

- Would I eat here again? Absolutely.
- Did it seem like a good value? Definitely. An appetizer, two soups, two entrees added up to $56 before tip. The BYO factor amplifies the good value to be had here.

Essentials

Food - Excellent

Service - Very good on a busy night

Amenities

Decor - Cool, colorful, lively and interesting

Wash rooms - Okay. Much more modest than luxurious (not a judgment, just an fyi). Also, somewhat confusingly, the door with the banana on it leads you into the ladies' room, NOT the mens' room.

Parking - Plentiful. We parked directly in front of the restaurant. Open meter parking for blocks in each direction.

Review: Indian Garden (Chicago)

2007-12-31T07:52:00.000-08:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Overall Impression:
Dinner at the Indian Garden can be a cool experience in a somewhat unique city setting. It isn't inexpensive, but the food is good and the service is a tad friendlier than what I have commonly experienced in some of Chicago's other Indian restaurants.

Highlights / Lowlights:

What was great -

- The Entrees. We enjoyed our entire meal, but the entrees were the best part. My wife had the Chef's Special Murg Tikka Masala and I had the Chef's Special Jai Puri Aloo, both over the Kesari Pulav. Ridiculously tasty. The kind of delicious that triggers one's "just keep shoveling that good stuff into your food hole" reflex. Being in public, we worked to restrain ourselves and maintain the appropriate sense of decorum.

What wasn't so great -

- The "we're out of that" response. Our reservation was for 7pm on a Saturday night (i.e., prime time). Yet they were out of one key appetizer (cashewnut rolls, which we've found to be excellent at their Devon location) and one key dessert (the pistachio kulfi). Kind of odd to be out of those things early on a weekend night. Hoping that next time we try this place they have those in stock.

Scorecard

Two Critical Questions

- Would I eat here again?
Absolutely. Devon is closer, but this is worth the occasional trip, especially in the winter. Valet adds $12 - $15 to your night, but that's not a bad price to pay to avoid the parking hassle and subsequent walk in the December/January elements involved in visiting Devon.

- Did it seem like a good value?
It's fair. Two appetizers, two entrees (leaving enough to wrap up so tomorrow's lunch is also covered), two rice dishes, naan, two desserts and three glasses of wine for ~$110. Good food in a nice room - seemed worth it to me.

Essentials

Food - Very good entrees, pretty good appetizers, solid dessert. The samosas seemed a little less than fresh, as the shell was just a touch too crispy, but the Aloo Tikka was nice. We really liked the gulab jamun, which was served hot -- our preference -- and wasn't overly sweet and syrupy - well done. The mango kulfi came out ice-cube frozen, but with patience the softened state kulfi was very tasty.

Service - Solid and friendly. We were initially greeted by a man who seemed to be either the manager or possibly part of the ownership team. He looked snappy in a nice dark suit and provided a very graceful welcome once we mounted the mountain-goat-steep staircase leading up to the dining room. Later, a woman who appeared also to be part of the ownership team was doing rounds of the dining room, chatting up guests. The table behind us in particular got a lot of love, but she spread it around pretty well, checking in on everyone. And our service team was just a little friendlier than what we've experienced on Devon, where the servers can often come off as all-business and prioritize efficiency over the warm fuzzies.

Amenities

Atmosphere - Sophisticated, but comfortable. Soft, dim lighting. Dark walls, ornate chairs. Nice elevated perspective with the second floor view of Ontario St. Only thing a bit out of place are the plastic table coverings. I understand the practicality of it, but every time I went to pick up my wine the bottom of the glass stuck to the table for just a second. Kind of disconcerting amidst the smoothness the rest of the experience delivers.

Valet parking - $12 is a little steep where $10 seems the norm, but it's not outrageous. Know that you will need to find the valets over by their home base at Ron of Japan, then double back over to Indian Garden.

Review: Hotel Lucia, Portland OR

2007-12-31T06:58:00.000-08:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Overall Impression:
The Lucia is stylish without being over the top. It has the cosmopolitan, boutique feel of a San Francisco or Manhattan hotel right in the middle of Portland.

Highlights / Lowlights:

What was great -

- The small touches
Someone running the Lucia realizes that the cumulative impact of little things can deliver a strong brand experience. For example, room service coffee is served French press style - nice (once you figure out how to use it, if you're an ignoramus like me and don't get it right away). Even better was discovering an umbrella in my closet before heading out to get some xmas shopping done in the rain. Looking out the window and seeing it pour outside I was hoping I could borrow one from the front desk or the doorman, but no need - right there, in my closet. Nice.

- The location
If you are going to get a surprise 3 day trip to Portland the week before xmas, at least stay in a place that is close to some shopping so you can still cover off last minute gifts. There are a number of shops within walking distance and it's only a short cab ride to some of the hipper neighborhoods (e.g. Pearl district)

What wasn't so great -

(Be advised: you will likely hear your neighbors' in-room activities sometime during your stay)

- Thin walls (and all that implies). I personally heard some animated conversation from my neighbors between 10:30 and 11:30 pm one night. But I had it good. A colleague of mine reported hearing his neighbor enjoying the adult entertainment. To each his own, of course, but damn, that's kind of nasty if I have to hear it.

Scorecard:

The two critical questions

Would I stay here again?
Certainly. It is conveniently located and pleasantly appointed. But I have only been to Portland once, so I can't speak to what superior options might exist.

Did it seem like good value?
Yes, but I got a good deal (less than $200/night) via a corporate rate.

Essentials

Room - Small, but stylish and functional. Nice flat screen directly facing the bed.

Bed - Comfortable

Bathroom - Small, but modern and well done.

The Internets - Very good. Wireless connection that is strong, consistent and available throughout the hotel (i.e., in the lobbies as well as the rooms, and the lobbies are definitely worth hanging out in)

Amenities

Room Service - Pretty good. Prompt and decent value as far as boutique hotels go ($18 including tip for large pot of coffee, bagel w/ cream cheese and cereal). Also, the Typhoon fried rice from the in-house restaurant was pretty tasty.

Lobbies - Unlike some other boutique hotels, these are actually worth spending some time in. There is a nice range of art on display, the furniture is cool and comfortable. Plus, with the persistent wireless connection available, you can be productive whilst you lounge.

Meeting rooms - I can't speak to what the cost is, but there are some conveniently accessible meeting rooms just downstairs from the main lobby that feel more like a very cool conference room in a very cool office than the meeting room of a hotel. If you must be cooped up working on the road, this isn't a bad way to go.

Review: Apart Pizza (Broadway location)

2007-12-31T05:55:00.000-08:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Finally a neighborhood pizza place that my wife doesn't dismiss as "too creepy". Realized on Wednesday it was open and tried it last night. Apart will definitely crack into our take out rotation, giving That Little Mexican Cafe an occasional rest.

Their pizzas are thin crust and creative. We went with the Francese (yes, there is egg on the pizza; yes, it is good) and the Capriciosa (a lot of artichokes here - unless you are some kind of freak you won't likely need to ask for extra artichokes). Both were great. We also randomly tried the sweet filoncino (chocolate), and liked that, too. To this layman's eye it seemed like pizza dough filled with a not too sweet chocolate cream and topped with powdered sugar. What was ordered as a throw in became a highlight.

For $18 we got 2 personal pies, the dessert and two cans of pepsi. Good deal.

Review: Vong's Thai Kitchen

2007-12-30T16:25:00.000-08:00

Image Source: A.S.V.

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Overall our experience at "VTK" was okay, but when weighing the cost and the experience, I think this place is in a bit of a no man's land for me. If I will be spending $100+ for dinner with my wife, I want to enjoy the experience more than I did here. And if I just want some good Asian food, I can easily do that for less than $100.

There was some creativity in the dishes we tried, and service was mostly pleasant. I think a big reason I didn't love this as much as perhaps I could have was the table we were given. We were seated at the banquette, immediately on the other side of the host stand. Definitely felt apart from the rest of the space's vibe. If you are intent on going to VTK, I'd suggest declining that table if it is offered to you.

Highlights / Lowlights:

What was great

Tenderloin satay. Mouthwatering, tender, delicious.

What wasn't so great

Host / hostess service.
We were there at 7:30 on Christmas Eve and they were closing at 9. The place wasn't packed and there were better tables available in the dining room, but the hostess just dropped us at the nearest table she saw, on the banquette. This kind of thing indicates she's either clueless and not thinking that 'hey, it's kind of a special evening and there are better tables out there, why don't I hook them up?', or she just flat out didn't care about anything other than putting out minimal effort. Of course, this could totally be an isolated incident, but you hope that a restaurant's management sets the tone for service basics to the point where it's second nature for everyone on staff.

Scorecard:

Two critical questions

Would I eat here again?
Sure. But I wouldn't go out of my way to do so.

Was it good value?
It was fair.

Essentials

Food - Mostly good.

Appetizers were mixed: tenderloin satay was fantastic, the tofu jenga wasn't great (clever name and presentation, nice tomato ginger sauce, but the tofu itself was over seasoned - each bite was a mouthful of salt and garlic).

Entrees were pretty good. The pad thai in the salmon pad thai was great, with moist and flavorful noodles. But the cut of salmon perched atop the noodles didn't add much to the dish. (Not sure how else one could prepare this dish, but it was just odd seeing the fish in one big piece sitting on the noodles. No other pad thai that I have seen comes like this. Chicken, beef, tofu - they are all shredded or cubed or spread out in the dish one way or another.) My wife had the shrimp and scallops in the citrus curry and she claims it was good.

Their wine options provided a nice breadth of options if not a lot of depth. The list includes one bottle (maybe two, max) of interesting choices like beaujolais, tempranillo, malbec, but they also cover off the more common US wines (cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir). My adventurous wife opted to try the 'mistletoe' - a concoction of gin, strawberry liqueur and maybe mint. $11 worth of 'not great'.

For dessert we tried the 'creme brulee trio' and the warm chocolate cake. Cake was fine - not too sweet, which is nice - but it wasn't particularly memorable. The creme brulee trio -- ginger, tamarind, coconut - was mixed. My wife loved the coconut, I liked the tamarind and, to my palate anyway, the ginger flavor was so subtle I would have believed it if you told me it was a placebo serving.

Service - Our server was pleasant and helpful, but maybe a little less frequent with the check-ins than we would have liked. Good enough, not great.

Amenities

Atmosphere - Probably would be nicer from every other table in the room than from the one we had, so I am not the best judge. Dark, contemporary, nice enough.

Review: Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel, Manhattan

2007-11-28T04:44:00.000-08:00

Note: This is also posted with my reviews over on Yelp.

Overall Impression:
The Doubletree is a decent, functional option, especially if you're looking to avoid the suddenly all too common $700+ hotel night in Manhattan. They try pretty hard to make a strong first impression, but a few things on the follow through somewhat disappointed me.

Highlights / Lowlights:

What was great:

- The greeting. This could irk some people (including me) depending upon your mood upon arrival, but they have a greeter to say hi and guide you to the reception desk. Very Gap-like. And a bit odd since the reception desk is maybe 8 feet from where you meet the greeter. I took it as a nice gesture, though. Once checked in you get a warm cookie. It comes in a bag with a kind of hokey spiel about warm cookies mean warm hospitality or some such. Maybe a little corny, but it surprised me, I'll remember it, and the cookie was pretty good.

- The price. At $385 or so plus tax, it was more than $200 cheaper than many other options we usually try. When you're staying one night and going to be there for ~10 hours, there's almost no sense at all paying the extra $ unless you're a total princess.

What wasn't so great:

- Room service / room amenities. This is one of the two things that knocked Doubletree from being a really good value to being a relatively cheap and functional but disappointing experience. Room service hours are 7a - 10p. That hurts when you check in at 11p and want some coffee at 6a. No dice. Of course you can schlep to a Starbucks, but that isn't especially convenient. What's worse is that there is no in-room coffee set up either. I could deal without the room service if I at least had the option to make my own.

- Random note: They secure their irons to their ironing boards, as if iron theft is a big problem for them. I wasn't sure if I should be insulted or concerned, as they either feel I'm a threat to steal the iron or I'm staying in a hotel full of desperate petty criminals.

Scorecard:

Two Critical Questions

- Would I stay here again?
If I had to. Can't argue with the relative price. Would try to avoid them on trips where I need to get up early due to the unusual difficulty in securing caffeine.

- Was it a good value?
It was okay. If you aren't an early morning coffee freak like me, it might be a terrific value for you.

Essentials:

Bed - Fine, nothing fancy, but comfortable

Bathroom - Fine

Workspace - Pretty good

Amenities:

TV - Okay. Smallish, but flat screen.

The Internets - Good. Wired connection, reliable.

Room Service - Disappointing, limited hours

Great Utility for Finding Flights: Kayak Buzz

2007-11-25T10:13:00.000-08:00

I love this. Something that lets you set your travel criteria, keeps a constant search of multiple sites going, and lets you access results how you want.

Kayak Buzz lets you configure settings for destination (by broad region), price, number of stops and broad time frame (upcoming weeks, or by specific upcoming months). Then you can elect to receive results by email or rss feed (pictured below). Brilliant.

Review: Apartment Rental from ColonialEcuador.com, Quito, Ecuador

2007-11-11T10:06:00.000-08:00

In a previous post I had written about the lodging options I was zeroing in on as I planned my vacation this past summer. This post provides a long overdue review of our apartment rental experience.

Overall Impression:
The apartment we rented via ColonialEcuador was fantastic. It is a stylish, comfortable and incredibly convenient apartment in the heart of Quito's Old Town neighborhood. By the second day of our stay we were ready to trade our Chicago condo for this apartment. The pictures on the rental site give every indication of this being a very nice place, but the actual experience exceeded our expectations.

Highlights / Lowlights:

What was great

View Larger Map

Location - On Benalcazar just south of Olmedo, you are within a three minute walk of Plaza Grande (aka, Plaza de la Independencia) as well as a number of shops, a few restaurants and a grocery store. One place in particular that we liked was the Hotel Patio Andaluz, which has both an original boutique (Folklore Olga Fisch) whose offerings range from very nice souvenirs to serious artwork, and a very pleasant restaurant (El Rincon de Catuna - picture below), which had great food and sincere, gracious service.

Design - The whole of this apartment is greater than the sum of its parts, as the vaulted ceiling and open flow result in a beautiful, open space. And when you consider that the weekly rental price is as little as one half to one third of what you might pay for a moderate to nice hotel, you simply cannot beat this apartment.
That said, some individual features merit specific call outs.

* The dining room has a wall of windows looking onto the building's courtyard and the houses that work their way up the nearby hill. At night the setting makes for a brilliant view. Shamefully this was not something we utilized during our stay, but was probably the top feature driving our condo envy.

* A close second to the dining room was the wall of french doors in the living room and kitchen area that look out onto Benalcazar.

All of the doors open, but one of them opens onto a small balcony that lets you sit with some coffee in the morning as Quito wakes up below you or stand at night con una cerveza, soaking in the later stages of Velada Libertaria, if you happen to be lucky enough to be in Quito during that part of August. Hearing the sounds of musicians and fireworks pour in through those open windows was a tremendous way to get geared up for a night of roaming among the thousands of celebrants.

* Amenities. While it was absolutely a great experience to be immersed in the middle of Old Town Quito, it was also nice to be able to connect with the world back home when we wanted to. In that regard, the DirecTV set up in the loft with BBC and CNN International (the real channel, not the awful loop you get in European hotel rooms) was excellent. On the other side of the loft was a modest desk where the high speed internet cable is accessible.

What wasn't so great:

* The one modest gripe we had with the apartment was about the "queen" size bed, which was actually two full size beds pushed together. This is not an uncommon arrangement in apartment rentals and economy hotels outside the U.S., but in my experience when the room is arranged that way it also includes a brace of some kind to secure the frames or the box springs together. This wasn't such an inconvenience that we bothered to visit the management about it, but it is worth noting as something you may wish to address with them before your stay begins.

Scorecard:

Two Critical Questions:

Would I stay here again?
Absolutely. I don't think I would even bother investigating any new alternatives.

Was it good value?
Again, absolutely. The convenience, space and comfort for the dollar was great value.

Essentials

Bed - Okay - would have been better with a brace.

Bathroom - Very good. Spacious, modern and ...

... with a neat view out of a porthole window in the shower (below).

Kitchen - Excellent. Full range of up-to-date appliances.

Amenities

TV - Very good. DirecTV package is great, the TV itself is a bit small, but plenty good enough for the occasional use it gets on a vacation.

The Internets - Very good. High speed, reliable and set up on a nice desk in the loft, making for a nice place to have some coffee and catch up on news from home.

Dining Room - Beautiful - just wish we actually used it.

Balcony - Great perch for watching a slice of Quito pass you by.

Review: Affinia Manhattan

2007-11-10T12:40:00.000-08:00

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp

Overall Impression:
If you want something functional at a relatively decent price, this could work for you. If you need modern touches (say, something from within the last 15 years) and any kind of glamor vibe, keep looking.

I had stayed at another Affinia property a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it (think it was either the Dumont or the Shelburne Murray Hill). Sleek room plus a small kitchenette at a comparatively great price. So I was a little disappointed when I got into room 1616 at Affinia Manhattan. While the lobby may give off some grand airs, the room transported me to a 1980s roadside motel in Maine. Old TV, old a/c, awful old 'window treatments', old light fixtures. Ugh. In fairness, this was late at night, and during the day with the shades up and the windows open it has a much nicer feel. But the immediate impact of walking in at 10pm after your cab ride from LGA can take the spring out of one's step.

Definitely not a top choice, but in the current hotel climate where rooms at the W next week are quoting $900/night, this is a sane, serviceable option.

Highlights / Lowlights:

What was great

Kitchenette - Not because it is especially nice, but just because I love having a kitchen when I travel. Making some coffee in the morning. Pulling some milk out of the fridge for cereal. Grabbing a beer and watching SportsCenter. Little things make it feel a bit less like you're away from home. Not to mention it can be 15 times less expensive than room service. Especially when there is a nice market 2 doors down the block on 7th Ave.

Front Desk - Friendly, helpful and smooth. Randomly had a little self-serve picnic like dispenser of Snapple cran-apple or something when I checked in. Odd, but nice gesture.

The Internets - Reliable, decent speed.

What wasn't so great

Furnishings - Everything in the room had seen better days. The desks could have been salvaged from a not-so-well-off estate sale. TV was a 25" old school model. In general it had the feel of a 2-star, out of the way discounted joint you might accidentally fall into while trying to do Europe on a tight budget. Wasn't what I expected for $420/night directly across from Madison Square Garden.

The Scorecard:

Two Critical Questions

Would I stay here again?
If it was $200/night cheaper than other options again, sure.

Was it good value?
Only relatively speaking.

Essentials

Space - good size rooms

Service - good and friendly

Bed - comfortable

Bath - okay, somewhat small

Workspace - okay to below average; desk is tiny

Amenities

Kitchen - good, useful if outdated. Note: the cleaning service will tidy up used dishes for you, which is nice.

Room service - N/A

TV - okay

Fitness center - great selection of cardio machines and free weights, possibly the most modern aspect of the entire property

Review: Alcatraz Brewing Company, Indianapolis

2007-11-10T11:48:00.000-08:00

Note: This also appears with my reviews over on Yelp

Overall Impression:
Somehow Alcatraz Brewing Company manages to be generically over the top. The space is Costco-like vast and on the day we were there it was decked out with Colts blue and white balloons, a la a car dealership during a sizzlin' summer sale. What it lacks in authentic charm, though, it makes up for in convenience. Very close to the dome, which probably means this is a little money minting factory.

I was only here for two beers prior to heading over the the RCA Dome for "Super Bowl XLI 1/2", so my review won't go into the usual depth but rather just hit a couple of key points.

Atmosphere - Definitely a little crazy for pre-game. Crowded with Colts fans. Made for some slightly uncomfortable areas near the bar, but it was early enough that people weren't too drunk or surly about bumping into each other.

Service - Our waitress wasn't thriving on the energy. She seemed overwhelmed. Well-intentioned, but over matched by the crowd. Again, it was still early so I don't think her demeanor was a result of dealing with a string of over served a-holes, but rather just being swamped. Servers in this kind of atmosphere can either embrace it and begin counting the money of they can wilt. Ours wilted a bit.

The Beer - This was the bright spot. Standouts were the October Bock and the Pelican Pale Ale."