When I flew to Europe recently, I knew my cell phone was not going to work over there. I could have rented a phone from Cingular or bought a new one. But I borrowed one from a friend who was recently there, paid him for all my calls, and it worked out just fine. So…
I just read about Bob Kantor’s Memphis Minnie’s Barbecue Joint and Smokehouse, at 576 Haight Street, San Francisco, celebrating slow-smoked Southern style BBQ. According to the eNewsletter from True Sake, the first American Sake store a few blocks away on Hayes Street, Memphis Minnies BBQ is “where sake comes face-to-face with the biggest badass rack…
Whether you’re a hacker like me or a scratch golfer, you’ve probably always dreamed of playing a round where golf was supposedly invented: The acclaimed Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland. On July 1, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts started managing Scotland’s destination golf inn, the 209-room St. Andrews Bay Golf Resort & Spa, a few…
It’s been said that the devil is in the details. So if you want to see the devil personified, get to an air conditioned movie theatre to enjoy the detailed, nuanced performance by the great Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada.” Based on the best seller by Lauren Weisberger, the film portrays the “The…
In a few weeks, we’ll all be treated to the best of two worlds: chocolate and wine. Wine Country Chocolates & Truffles will be located in the Jack London Village Shopping Center in the town of Glen Ellen, surrounded by literally hundreds of local Sonoma County wineries. At its chocolate tasting bar, visitors can “enjoy…
My friend, fellow writer and humorist
Whether you’re grilling beef burgers, turkey burgers, chicken or hot dogs this Fourth of July weekend, you’ll probably wish you had some patriotic domestic wine to go with them. Read “California bottles spark fireworks,” from the SF Chronicle that suggests a number of low-priced California wines, from 2005 Mirassou Monterey County Riesling ($10) to NV…
From Budget Travel Online comes a story about a handful of premiere American chefs. One is David Burke of New York’s David Burke & Donatella Restaurant who has placed his “Burke in the Box” food concept in the flagship Bloomingdale’s store at 1000 Third Avenue, featuring a Kobe beef hot dog ($14) with fries topped…
My friend Ken Howard grew up a few blocks from me in San Francisco. Maybe we both became scuba divers because we could see the Pacific Ocean from our homes. Or maybe it’s just a coincidence. While I take an occasional underwater photo, Ken is one of the world’s best. He has captured and published…
When I started flying frequently on business about 20 years ago, I joined American Airlines AAdvantage Program. It earned me many free trips and upgrades to exotic locales worldwide. Next, I joined the United Airlines Mileage Plus program because my wife had more miles there. Now, we have a credit card with a third party…
Want to hit the trendiest new restaurant in town? Can’t get reservations? In a recent issue of Allure Magazine, David Lunch, the General Manager of Mario Batali’s Babbo Restaurant in New York shares these tips: • Don’t be choosy. Everybody wants a prime reservation on Saturday night. Instead, try picking an off-night, like a Tuesday….
Imagine a French vintner from Bordeaux trying to turn a rocky field he called “totally no man’s land” into a winery. Now, imagine that this patch of dirt was subject to harsh winters of -20 degrees Celsius, was within sight of the Great Wall of China, and was about 70 kilometers northwest of Beijing. That…