Search results for

Owners Laura and Riccardo Bonino opened this local staple in 2011, bringing inspired, authentic flavors from Italy‘s Piedmont region to small-town South Carolina. The late author Pat Conroy was fond of eating here, a fact that the restaurant plays up in their marketing. But hype aside, the kitchen’s use of seasonal ingredients in dishes like tagliatelle verdi (handmade kale pasta) and seared scallops makes for a memorable meal.

Chef Joshua McFadden is Portland’s “vegetable whisperer.” That’s no small accolade in a town where vegans roam free and farm-to-table is table stakes for most high-end restaurants. Tusk, his Middle Eastern–inflected restaurant on Burnside Street, turns out small plates under the watchful eye of his business partner, chef Sam Smith. Each dish is near reverent of its ingredients, with “Vegetables, Fruits, Grains” literally at the center of the printed dinner menu. Brunch at Tusk is a more eclectic affair, and also one of Portland’s hottest weekend seats. The bright space even makes the wait for a table a pleasant experience and one well worth the time it takes for the chance to taste the creations of one of Portland’s premier chefs.

The truth is, there’s a chance that there won’t be any bread to buy when you visit the Raleigh Street Bakery’s operation (a garage behind the baker’s house). That’s because the bakery sells bread shares to locals that they use to score a fresh loaf or two of artisanal bread every week. But because there may be an extra loaf of this extraordinary bread for sale, you should make a point of trying. Two pickup locations around town operate at different hours on different days. The Monday-late-afternoon bread-pickup spot, Call to Arms Brewing Company, offers the consolation of fine local craft beer if the bread’s all gone. You can also try the Union Station Farmers’ Market on Saturdays between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

With owner and chef’s Martin Shanahan’s background as a fishmonger, it’s not hard to guess what’s on the menu here, but this place is serious about seafood. He first opened a fish shop and deli and later expanded to a restaurant, which stands out even in Kinsale, one of Ireland’s culinary hot spots. Shanahan ensures that only the freshest catch landed on the pier that morning ends up on the menu, including the oysters, lobster, and mussels, as well as what goes in the delicious fish pie.

Preservation Hall occupies a worn Creole town house that was originally built as a home in the early 19th century, and that had evolved into an art gallery and performance space by 1961. (It was founded by a man of philanthropic bent who fretted that the great, aging New Orleans musicians no longer had a place to play.) It hasn’t changed much since the ‘60s—audiences cluster on benches or stand along the back wall to hear whomever is playing that night. Among the glories of New Orleans is traditional jazz, which is still very much alive here and never feels as if it belongs in a morgue—or even an intensive care unit. Check the schedule for upcoming acts, but don’t get hung up on specific performers; every night offers something worth stopping by for, and everyone leaves in a better mood than when they arrived.

Don’t even think about leaving Vienna without having at least one schnitzel dinner. Sure, you can find the crispy breaded veal and pork cuts at restaurants all over town, but where you want to go is to Figlmüller, where the pork schnitzels are a good foot in diameter and spill over the edge of the plate. Just minutes from Stephansdom cathedral, the original, rustic Figlmüller is tucked into a narrow shopping gallery between streets. Just outside the passageway, the Figlmüller family’s sister restaurant Lugeck opened in 2014 with upscale cuisine served in a gorgeous art nouveau building. Its interior is done in a contemporary beechwood look, and its front terrace looks right at a towering statue of Gutenberg on Lugeck Square.

From 1903 to 1979, the Panama Canal and an area extending eight kilometers (five miles) beyond it on each side were an unincorporated territory of the United States. The Canal Zone was not only politically but culturally part of America, with towns that could have been plucked out of the Midwest except for the humidity and tropical foliage. Balboa was the administrative capital of the Canal Zone, with American schools, several Protestant churches with services in English and both an Elks Club and a Masonic Lodge. Many of the buildings, like the YMCA and the Panama Canal Administration Building, still stand. After 1979, the Canal was jointly administered by Panama and the United States for 20 years before being returned completely to Panama in 1999.

It’s hard to go wrong with Italian food in Boston’s North End, but one surefire way to go right is to turn left from the door of the Paul Revere House and slip inside the historic town house that’s home to Mamma Maria, an unmissable fine-dining restaurant facing North Square. Settle into the serenely elegant dining room overlooking the square to feast on classics like terrine of suckling pig, veal osso buco, Tuscan-style rabbit pappardelle, and a wide selection of seafood dishes from local waters. The uninitiated may mutter a “mamma mia” at the prices, but for Northern Italian in the North End, Mamma Maria rules the house.

Since the 1970s, Melvyn’s has hosted a string of famous guests—most notably Frank Sinatra, who held court from corner booth #53 whenever he was in town. The Rat Pack spirit endures here. Old standards play nightly (except Mondays) at the piano bar, while tuxedo-clad waiters serve up Manhattans and martinis. A 2017 face lift spruced up the chandelier-strewn dining room and returned the bar to its former pale pink–tufted glory. Melvyn’s was and still is one of few places in Palm Springs with a dress code—it once famously turned away Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw for showing up in motorcycle ensembles—although diners are now allowed to dress more casually if they’re eating under the striped awning of the patio. Call ahead to reserve a table (yes, Sinatra’s booth is still available) and then give in to nostalgia. For lunch, try the Monte Cristo sandwich; after dark, follow jumbo prawn cocktails and oysters Rockefeller with tableside-prepared steak Diane and cherries jubilee. Insider’s tip: Ask maître d’ Brian Ellis, hired when Melvyn’s first opened, about the night the FBI stopped by.

Perched between South Atlantic beaches and lagoons and the massive sand dunes of the Namib Desert, the town of Swakopmund reflects a Bavarian-meets-African heritage in its buildings, cuisine and language. (It was the main harbor of German South West Africa, which lasted from 1884 until 1915, when South Africa took over the administration of the area.) Learn about the history of the town at the Swakopmund Museum, with exhibits on native flora and fauna, historical objects and archaeological relics, and the ethnology of the Namibian people and their cultures. The architecturally striking Kristall Galerie showcases Namibia’s mining history and includes the world’s largest quartz crystal cluster, a gem garden and a studio and shop for fine jewelry and precious stones.

You might encounter this evolving collection of apparel, accessories, and furniture “popping up” here and there. Owner Linda Hamilton, interior designer, fashion stylist, and entrepreneur, has spent years traveling the world on a quest for exciting and authentic apparel and accessories. You can find her Nomad Chic collection at boutique hotels and other locations and events across the United States and Mexico. Perhaps in a fabulous hotel lobby, poolside, or in her Moroccan tent filled to the brim with extraordinary apparel, jewelry, and accessories. She has created a unique mobile shopping experience. Nomad Chic’s carefully curated merchandise is a combination of unique and limited-edition creations by a host of international designers (which you will not find in other stores) along with Linda’s own apparel, jewelry, and accessories collection. Nomad Chic has been known to appear at the white building, Juarez (@ Hidalgo), Todos Santos, B.C.S., Mexico.

The Inca Trail is perhaps the most famous trek in Peru. This is the road to Machu Picchu, an ancient route that leads from the Sacred Valley into the heart of the Andes. You must obtain a permit and hire an official guide in order to hike the Inca Trail proper. There are plenty of tour operators in Cusco that offer trips up to Machu Picchu, so you should definitely look at reviews before you choose. For better or for worse, the tours are all-inclusive. The local tour operators employ porters to carry your packs and set up a camp. A team of local chefs will prepare three meals a day, and many hikers come back raving about the delicious meals. Keep in mind that the trek can be tough, especially in the first few days. The trail is often narrow, and it flirts with formidable heights. The mountains in this part of the Andes can rise well over 13,000 feet, and many hikers find themselves suffering from altitude sickness. Make sure to take a few days (in Cusco or the Sacred Valley) to acclimatize before you begin the journey. Finally: make sure to plan ahead! The Peruvian government limits trail access to 500 people per day, including porters. This regulation protects the local ecosystem and the delicate ruins, and it ensures that the trail won’t be too crowded. However, it also means that permits for the peak summer season sell out months in advance. If you aren’t able to get a permit for the classic Inca Trail, never fear: there are various other trails that lead to Machu Picchu.

The sky above Jasper National Park comes alive at night. Celebrated as a Dark Sky Preserve, the national park is one of the best places in the world to stargaze. Light pollution is that orange hue often seen above cities, which is caused by the large amount of iridescent light omnipresent in populated areas. Jasper, home to only 5,000 people in a 10,000-square-kilometer area, is essentially light-pollution free. Because of this, the skies are darker—the area around Columbia Icefield is one of the darkest places in North America—so it’s possible to clearly see more stars than nearly anywhere else. Although the dark skies are best viewed in autumn and winter, from September to March, the best time to learn about the stars is during Jasper’s annual Dark Sky Festival that takes place at the end of October. The best part? It’s absolutely free.

Hit Seven Mile Beach, a beautiful and—as the name would suggest—long stretch of shoreline to see why it’s one of the Cayman Islands’ most fabled features. Facing out to sea, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were beholding a life-size Rothko installation, with bands of the palest aqua, the richest cobalt and every gradation of blue-green in between. Also keep an eye out for the schools of fish that sprint along the water parallel to the shore.

The outside of the Sky Hotel is very deceiving. It looks like any other lodge in Aspen and then when you go inside it is quite the opposite. As you walk into the lobby there are high-backed chairs that are white in front and red with white writing on the back. The carpet is a chaotic pattern of circles and bright color dots—it all seems like something out of Alice in Wonderland. This modern, hip motif is transferred to all the guest rooms.