Travel Casserole

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

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 02:22:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:59:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:38:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:13:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:38:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:02:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:26:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:16:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:16:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 23:58:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:57:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 04:13:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 18:00:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 19:20:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:52:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:29:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 23:56:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 23:02:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:10:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:06:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:30:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:19:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:52:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 14:36:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Art Sindlinger) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:22:00 +0000

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.