One jumps at the chance to spend a day at London’s Beefeater Distillery, particularly when given a personal tour by Beefeater’s master distiller Desmond Payne. Gracious and mannered, Payne has been making gin for over 40 years, his early days being at Plymouth Gin. An English picnic in Kensington Gardens and a week full of fine food and cocktails at… Read more →
It was 10 years ago that I spent a month in England, a country I felt immediately at home in. Returning to the incomparable London last month certainly revealed changes – most for the better, including the ignited culinary and cocktail scene (I covered cocktails last issue). Maybe it wasn’t as devastatingly amazing as some claimed (and produce still falls… Read more →
Twenty-five bars across multiple areas, from Notting Hill to Hoxton… I did some serious exploring of London’s famed cocktail scene, from cutting-edge experimentation to divey comfort, legendary classics to just-opened destinations. I sipped with cocktail luminaries like Nick Strangeway over dinner at Hix, and imbibed incognito. As I dig into the scene in any city I travel, here’s my take-aways… Read more →
Article and photos by Virginia Miller Kauai… dreamy island respite, painfully beautiful, truly relaxing (other than East side traffic!) Last issue, I covered restaurants and cheap eats on the island. This time it’s best places to stay and drink (read the 5/15 issue for best cocktails on Kauai). HOTELS GRAND HYATT KAUAI, Poipu Beach – Do yourself a favor and… Read more →
After brilliant days exploring Honolulu and Oahu, I knew it was going to get better with Kauai, based on what everyone who had ever been told me. As a non-athletic type, I wasn’t going to Kauai for aggressive hikes and surfing. I prefer soaking in nature, reading poetry and taking walks on beaches, and, of course, searching for great local… Read more →
After a dreamy week in Hawaii, I have a slew of recommendations to share with you in a multi-part series. I’ve covered farmers market street food in Honolulu and on the North Shore of Oahu, and Honolulu’s cocktail scene. Now we dine in Honolulu, on the hunt for the best. Next time, Kauai. Though I arrived with romantic Blue Hawaii… Read more →
After a dreamy week in Hawaii, I have a slew of recommendations to share in a multi-part series. Last issue, I covered farmers market street food in Honolulu and on the North Shore of Oahu. This time, we sleep and drink in Honolulu, on the hunt for the best. Next issue, we’ll talk Honolulu restaurants. Though I arrived with romantic… Read more →
After a dreamy week in Hawaii, I have a slew of recommendations to share with you, which will be a multi-part series. This time around, I focus on street food and the KCC farmers market in Honolulu, then food on Oahu’s fabulous North Shore, surfing capitol of the world. HONOLULU Street Carts & Farmers Market KCC Farmers Market – The… Read more →
My January jaunt to LA yielded a number of discoveries from mediocre to delightful – here’s a rundown: Latest & Hottest A-FRAME, Culver City – I hit A-Frame, Roy Choi’s (of Kogi Korean taco truck fame) latest restaurant, just a few weeks after it opened. How could I not love the converted IHOP with a-frame shape and outdoor patio punctuated… Read more →
Not to be confused with downtown LA’s Library Bar (a pleasantly casual, book-lined hang-out, though not memorable on the drink front), the Library Bar, hidden in the back of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel‘s lobby, makes about the best cocktails I’ve ever had in LA (alongside the New York classicism of The Varnish and molecular creativity of The Bazaar). And that… Read more →