Monthly Archives for April 2014.
If you ever went to Vegas and thought “there just aren’t enough dining outlets here,” then fear not. First of all, I’m so sorry that the brain surgery went awry. Second, MGM is converting the space between New York-New York and Monte Carlo into an outdoor pedestrian park (called “The Park”) with a planned opening…
The Mauna Kea is the oldest hotel on Hawaii’s Kohala Coast and next year it’ll celebrate its 50th anniversary. Built by a Rockefeller, this beautiful hotel doesn’t look anywhere near its age and Manta, the signature restaurant at the Mauna Kea is no exception. Do you see that photo above? That’s the view from my…
I’ve been down on the Kohala Coast on the Northwest side of Hawaii (aka The Big Island) and I’ve been feasting like some kind of modern day Kamehameha. So far, I’ve enjoyed a private chef’s tour to the farmers market with Executive Chef Jayson Kanekoa of the Waikoloa Beach Marriott, a righteous steamed monchong at…
Resort fees have spread like a plague throughout the travel industry but once in a while, they’re actually worth it. At the Waikoloa Beach Marriott, where I’ve been staying as their guest for two days this week, the $25 resort fee not only gives you two Mai Tais and free internet to get the party…
I got my brand new Citi Executive AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard for two reasons: 100,000 bonus AAdvantage miles and complimentary access to the Admirals Club. As an American Platinum flyer who uses LAX as my home base, that meant I was finally going to get to enjoy the mythical club that overlooks Terminal 4 at…
The beauty of Facebook is that it takes news (and photos of babies and quizzes about which “Frozen” character you are) and puts it right in front of our faces. Case in point: the new locations of Loteria Grill at LAX in T5 and T7. A friend of a friend liked the post on Loteria…
When it comes to caviar, one of the biggest names in the game is Petrossian. With shops all over the world and the first airport caviar bar in the United States at LAX, the Petrossian family has proven that they’re serious about salty fish eggs for decades upon decades and the latest generation of Petrossians…
The media loves an easy target. As a member of the media, I know this all too well. In fact, I used to write a column for Bon Appetit called “The Nitpicker” where I got paid to complain about things and I’ll be the first to tell you that most of the things I complained…
A few weeks ago, Condé Nast Traveler published a “Daily Traveler” piece about the efforts Lufthansa’s consulting chefs are making to infuse their in-flight meals with flavor without resorting to the old tricks of pumping up the sodium and spices to turn the food into salty spice bombs. Wait. No. I didn’t mean bombs. You…
This doesn’t exactly fall under the food-focus of Fly&Dine, but as a public service I thought it would be worthwhile to share my experience of buying bespoke clothing on my recent trip to Hong Kong. In September, I traveled to Thailand for one of the best trips I’ve ever taken. I zoomed around the country…
Happy Easter Sunday to those celebrating! Have you had a good week? I have. Now that the bulk of my Hong Kong stories are done and posted (one more coming this week and then we’re totally done), I thought it would be a good idea to do a little wrap-up of all the stories I…
In the April issue of Travel + Leisure, writer Melanie Lieberman goes deep inside the beast that is the airline snack industry for an in-depth expose on– wait. No. That’s not true. There’s no incisive investigative reporting, but there is a pretty fun listicle/slideshow about the best snacks served on-board various airlines. From Delta’s might-as-well-be-called-Deltoff’s…
On my return flight from Hong Kong (HKG) to Los Angeles (LAX), Cathay Pacific provided me with a seat in Business Class. That was mighty kind of you, Cathay, and the seat was much appreciated. While other blogs may cover the seats (fully lie-flat!) or the entertainment options (plenty of great movies!), we here at…
When it comes to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), Cathay Pacific pretty much rules the roost. How else to explain the fact that they operate five different lounges at HKG? FIVE! That’s a tremendous amount and during my recent trip back from HKG -> LAX, I had just enough time to stop in at two…
