Category Archives for North America.
My neck hurts. It’s not from sleeping in a strange position, although I probably did. It’s from shaking my head so furiously after seeing Olive Garden’s new promotion. Perhaps you’ve heard about it. For $100, 1000 Olive Garden fans purchased the right to take unlimited Tours of Italy for 49 days in a row. The…
Beer made with avocados? Whisky* from 1941? These are phrases that definitely get my attention and hopefully they get yours, too. I’m always on the lookout for anything out-of-the-box (or bottle in this case) and happily got to attend two events this week that do not qualify as normal everyday occurrences. The first was Angel City…
Get ready for a new flagship! The Park Hyatt New York officially opened its doors yesterday and it’s a beauty. I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve never stayed at a Park Hyatt personally, but when I asked readers to name a hotel they’d actually want to live in on a previous Fly&Dine interview + giveaway…
Let’s face it: hotel executive chefs don’t get the same attention that chefs of individual restaurants receive and, yet, they have so much more responsibility. Instead of just one menu at one kitchen, they’re in charge of multiple dining outlets, buffets, on-site catering, room service, and everything else that relates to a hotel’s F&B program.…
The Los Angeles entire restaurant world is currently in a tizzy about the opening of Petit Trois, the small French restaurant/bar opening today next to its big brother Trois Mec. The collaboration of LA uber-chefs Ludo Lefebvre and Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo (Animal/Son of a Gun) took the culinary world by storm with Trois…
First things first: I won’t be addressing the tragedy today surrounding MH17. It’s a horrific event and nobody in the world needs a snarky food and travel writer such as myself weighing in. Back to our regularly scheduled programming… Have you ever been to Japan to experience the Tanabata Star Festival? I haven’t, but I…
If you have any doubt that we’re living in a globalized world, look no further than Dominique Ansel’s “Cronut,” the croissant-doughnut hybrid that set the food world (and regular world, really) abuzz a little over a year ago in Ansel’s Manhattan Bakery. What’s a cronut? First of all, we need to get some internet in…
This is why I love running Fly&Dine! Earlier today I posted a story about tipping at hotels and, lo and behold, one of San Francisco’s top butlers took the time to weigh in with his perspective and it’s amazing. Instead of leaving it in the comments of the other post, I wanted everyone to see…
I’m always relieved when I go to a foreign country that hasn’t established a tipping standard like the US. I don’t have to carry around that anxiety of “Should I tip that person? How much? Is that enough? Too much?” Back here in America, though, I do have that anxiety. Respect is a big issue…
Have you signed up for the dining rewards programs through the various airlines? They’re a great way to earn miles without doing much of anything at all besides eating. Rewards Network operates the programs for both American and United and I was pleasantly surprised to get their emails today promising major mileage bonuses. United is…
Chocolate Fried Chicken. It’s a thing now, people, and if you’re traveling to LA any time soon, you can get your hands on some by swinging down near the Staples Center where you’ll find ChocoChicken, the brand new chocolate fried chicken concept from the guy behind Umami Burger. The chocolate’s in the batter but it…
Part of the life of the food writer is getting invited to really, really nice dinners. Honestly, besides the trips, it’s pretty much the best part of the job. Last Friday, I had the good fortune of being invited to an unbelievable meal at Mélisse in Santa Monica, CA where chef Josiah Citrin is carrying the…
No, Justin Bieber is not dead. Honestly, I don’t care one way or the other. I just needed something more attention-getting than “Hotel Restaurant News,” because that is not a sexy headline. No siree. Dead Bieber? Sexy headline. You’re with me on this, right? The truth is, I think hotel restaurant news IS exciting and…
I love chicken wings. Ever since my college days where I’d routinely put down double-orders from Buffalo Joe’s with waffle fries (aka buffalo chips) and an RC cola, I’ve been enamored of the little flavor bombs. Last week, I had the good fortune of being invited down to Overland Park, a suburb of Kansas City,…
