Travel

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of eating Buffalo wings dripping with butter-infused hot sauce, you’ve tasted food that originally came from Upstate New York. You also might be surprised to learn that potato chips were originally invented in Upstate New York, in Saratoga Springs. Often overshadowed by New York City’s understandably more famous cuisine, Upstate New York is a meat eater’s paradise, home to such foods as beef on weck (also known as kummelweck), chicken spiedies, white hots, and the amazingly sinful garbage plate. Buffalo Wings Originally invented by the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, locals refer to them as chicken wings (or more simply, wings). When we lived in Western New York, our local pizzaria used to sell them with their pizzas, along with soft garlic knots dipped in butter. Each year, the City of Buffalo holds a chicken wing festival. Last year, a record 27 tons of wings were eaten by 78,000 very happy people. Hopefully, this
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And you thought Blues was dead. Hah! In just 13 days, the biggest blues event in the world, the International Blues Challenge (IBC), begins. It lasts only three days, but this event brings in over 180 Blues acts from 36 states and nine countries. And where will all this madness and mayhem take place? In Memphis, Home of the Blues. Each year the Blues Foundation, in support of its stated goal of raising consciousness and awareness of the blues, hosts this extravaganza, which takes place in the Beale Street area, the cradle of the Blues. And each year it seems the Blues Foundation bests itself from the previous years. Then they cap it off by hosting an awards celebration that blows the doors off any others around. State and national blues organizations across the globe run their own versions of qualification trials, picking and usually picking up the tab for these groups and musicians while they’re in Memphis. There are solo competitions, pairs, small groups, large groups, and
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My husband and I talked at length the other night about attempts that were made to contact un-contacted tribes like those headlined last year. The tribesmen were touted as savages by a lot of people, presumably because it was “us” using our methods of civilization to spy on “them,” who had none. We discussed what defines and differentiates the civilized from the savage. My husband is a recently retired Marine who spent a year in Okinawa and Korea. He spent five winters in a tent in the highest elevations of Norway and deployed to the Mediterranean where his ship was diverted to the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Croatia. He crossed the border at Kuwait into Iraq in 2003 and spent time off the coast of Liberia on his way home. While stationed with Marine Forces Europe, he spent a great deal of time in Africa. He is no stranger to adversity and has witnessed much poverty. His military resume has given him a clear perspective on the world’s have-nots than could be had by any number of
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Wynn’s Encore Resort in Las Vegas offers an exciting new make-up service. It is not simply a make-up application, but an actual lesson. Jennifer — my tall, blonde, well dressed (and perfectly made-up) beautician — greets me in the super swank, very elegant Salon which looks out over the lush Wynn property and offers floor to ceiling views of the city. You will find the Salon so large and airy you feel good just being here, especially if you are lucky enough to be pampered by the expert staff. “Come to my table,” Jennifer says, beckoning me to her private and impeccably clean spot near the window. Introducing myself, I explain that I’ve been doing my make-up the same way for a few months now, and wanted an expert’s opinion of what I am doing right and what needs improvement. I’ve also applied eyeliner and asked if I’ve applied it thin enough, and implore her to tell me tricks to keep the eyeliner from moving. Jennifer listens to me, nods, and removes my make-up so we can
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Okay, let’s face it! Certain things are to be expected when you think of a Las Vegas steakhouse, and good steak is almost the least of them. If you are like me, you are expecting a very sultry, sexy, lounge-type atmosphere with incredible dГ©cor and the kind of ambiance that whispers anything — yes, anything — can happen. You expect to be guided to your table by hostesses that are slightly too friendly and attractive for comfort. And since you’ve been eating at high-end steakhouses for more years than you care to remember, you are secretly hoping something will happen that will make the evening memorable enough to tell your friends back home. Welcome to Botero, the new steakhouse at the Wynn Encore resort in Las Vegas. Created by nightlife impresario Victor Drai (I loved his restaurant in Beverly Hills) and Executive Chef Mark LoRusso, this is arguably one of the sexiest restaurants in Las Vegas with a vibrant, upscale crowd that looks as if they live and eat well. In
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With two young daughters deeply enjoying art at home and in school, I find myself in the new position of having to look for books that combine art with education. Sometimes these books document the lives of famous artists while showing some of their more well known works. Sometimes I stumble on books that combine travel, education, and art in a unique way to share more than words or pictures on a page, but also an experience. African Diaries: Sketches & Observations, by David G. Derrick, Jr., is one of those books. Derrick self-published African Diaries, which is comprised of sketches and writings about his trip to Kenya. He uses an amazing array of artistic techniques, from watercolors and chalks to pen and sculpture. It's a very personal look at how he saw not only the wildlife in Africa, but the people as well. He started in Nairobi, but quickly went beyond the bounds of the teeming third-world capital city. He seems to have found a way to go on safari as much as humanly
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You might describe my reading interests as catholic (very definitely with a small “C”): I read history, science, politics, philosophy, and bits of fiction. I would have given you good money that railway station architecture was not particularly likely to feature on my reading list, but I’d have lost that money. When I saw a little paperback entitled St Pancras’s Station in the lovely, small but select branch of Foyles that’s opened since the London international terminus’s refurbishment, I couldn’t resist. After all, I only live five minutes away and walk through the station several times a week. Although had I known how much there was about those roofing struts I might not have done - and that would have been a pity. For although this is an odd little book — mostly an architectural history, something that isn’t terribly evident from the book’s furniture — there’s a huge number of fascinating snippets in this - and even those supporting struts are interesting. The largest
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Modern life getting you down? Feel like getting away from it all? Perhaps a week as a Roman legionary will put the colour back in your cheeks. Or maybe you'd prefer to pillage a village in the company of rampaging Vikings. Historical re-enactments may not be the most relaxing form of relaxation, but for many time travel beats Benidorm on all counts. This is fertile ground for an author like Tim Moore. Previous books have seen him following the footsteps of the first Grand Tourist, the fortunes of Eurovision failures and the tyre tracks of the Tour de France. For Tim Moore, the world of re-enactments is a field just waiting to be harvested. And what a strange world it is, where nothing is what it seems and everything is what it was. Enthusiasts drench their clothing in urine, mild-mannered coin collectors morph into bloodthirsty warriors, and everyone craves the magical fusion of past and present, a sensation known as "period rush". Early on, Moore learns that
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TasteTV visits the annual Great Dickens Fair, a fantastic event that includes food, wine, ale, song, dance, and an occasional corset (for women and men). That’s right, we said “corsets.”

I can claim expertise in few things, but how to view art on the cheap is something at which I excel. With the right timing and a flexible schedule, you don't need to pay oodles to see the museums of New York City. Below are the how-tos to seeing some of the greatest works of art in the world. Whatever your taste, these eight New York City museums are easy and fun to visit on the cheap. Note that listed prices are for adults; admission for students, seniors, and children often has a discounted price. First, let's hit the "majors," which should be part of any cultural enthusiast's outings in New York City. 1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 Fifth Avenue) The Met lists a suggested ticket price of $20 dollars. A suggestion is not a price. They accept as little as a dollar, and then you're in to see this behemoth's grand cultural offerings, ranging from Egyptian pyramids to African reed boats to European portraits. They also have constantly changing
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