I’m going to take a break from the Australia trip to do a quick hit on Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara is a great little city with a fun, vibrant wine scene. We took an excursion out there for the weekend during a work trip to L.A. and had the opportunity to stay in one of Santa Barbara’s newest hotels — the trendy, the fun, The Wayfarer.
I’ll say this off the bat, The Wayfarer is not the cheapest place you’ll stay. Full disclosure, we were able to get a great rate for a room because our friend’s husband works for Pacifica Hotels, the company that manages The Wayfarer. Now that being said, you will be able to find a full range of rates due to the fact that it’s technically a hostel. It’s a very, very swanky hostel, but still technically a hostel. Because of this, you’ll be able to get a bed in a male only/female only dorm for only $50 a night. But if you want a private room, it’ll cost more depending on when you stay.
From everything I saw, it’s worth the price no matter what way you want to stay there. The location is fantastic. You’re within walking distance of the beach, wineries and the shitshow that is State Street. The rooms are brand new, and in some of them there’s a great murphy bed that comes out from above the king size bed, making it look like a bunk bed/cruise ship cabin. Yes, I was the overgrown child who got to camp out on it. There rooms also come with free wi-fi and flat screen HD TVs.
The pool area is small, but comfortable enough. There is also a communal kitchen where each room gets their own pantry space with plenty of kitchenware for everyone to use. In the common area, you’ll find giant sized Jenga and Connect Four. Free breakfast is available every morning as well.
Places to go around The Wayfarer? Check out The Lark for the Hand Rolled Pappardelle with Crispy Braised Lamb. For brunch, The Brewhouse is the only place that offers brunch on Saturdays as well as Sundays. The brunch area looks a little like a mess, but don’t be scared off. The food is actually quite good and the chefs make pretty much made-to-order anything. For wine, head out to Kunin Wines for a tasting where they offer a Classic Tasting and a Syrah Tasting. You can also check out O’Malley’s for a good regular bar scene, and the Wildcat if you really want to end your night like you’re still a 20-year-old UC-Santa Barbara student (The Wildcat I don’t exactly “recommend”, but it you’re in that place where you want to be that way, well, then it’s there…).
In the end, with the beautiful 80 degree temps and sunny weather, there wasn’t really anything that you could do in Santa Barbara that’d be wrong.
During one of my work trips to the west coast, I had a chance to partake in a little beach time on the weekend. My friend and I decided to head down to Newport Beach to get away from the hustle and bustle of downtown LA. My friend found the Newport Channel Inn for the night we stayed. It’s located about a quick 5-minute walk from the beach and was a great deal at $159 a night (Note: This was the AAA rate, it would have been $169 otherwise. Prices do vary as well depending on the weekend).
For a little motel on the side of the road, this little inn is a great value and a very good option if you’re staying in the area. As I mentioned before the walk to the beach is 5 minutes, and you’re a 15 minute drive or less to the mall, Crystal Cove State Park, and plenty of restaurants.
Not only is the place in a good location, the staff there is very friendly (I’m pretty sure it’s family run). The inn offers beach towels, chairs, and boogie boards for the guests and the staff are more than willing to help with any needs you may have. For example, I lost my cell phone charger and went to the front to see if there was a Radio Shack nearby. There was one which the staff member told me about, but before I went, he went to the back and came back with a box of chargers and said that I could have any one of them if they fit (A LOT of people leave behind their chargers apparently).
The one knock I have on the place is that the A/C (at least in the room that we stayed in) points right at the bed which is a tad uncomfortable. So you’re either super hot, or have a cold blast in your face. Regardless, I still recommend this place as a good value stay if you’re at Newport Beach. It’s nothing special, but the location and staff make it worth it.
Hey folks. This is the first of my new “Quick Hits” series which I’m going to use for short reviews since I’ve experienced a lot in my travels that don’t really require a full blog post. For this entry, I want to highlight the single best dish I’ve had in Washington, D.C.
Rose’s Luxury in the Barrack’s Row region of D.C. has a changing menu, but the one constant is their Pork Sausage, Habanero, and Lychee Salad. Truth be told, when I went to Rose’s Luxury, we didn’t even order it. They had brought it to our table by mistake, but when they realized it wasn’t ours, in a classy move they told us, “It’s on the house”. I’m glad they made the mistake. The salad, while it does sound weird, was amazing.
It comes in a bowl with all the ingredients separated which you have to mix together. The first scoop I ate blew my mind, it was the strangest mix of flavoring that worked perfectly. Spicy, and sweet. Meaty and fruity. Soft, but a little crunchy as well. It’s worth going to Rose’s Luxury just to try it.
A few weeks ago I was out on the west coast for work and decided to take an addition few days to visit Portland, Oregon while I was out there. Having heard a lot about the little city’s hipster vibe and seeing episodes of Portlandia here and there (pun intended), I figured a weekend trip to see what it was about was in order.
Didn’t see those birds…or Carrie Brownstein.
Portland definitely lives up to a good amount of the stereotypes that I’d heard – lots of plaid, very relaxed/outdoorsy people, dogs everywhere, and a pretty good food scene for a small city. Sadly though, I didn’t really see that many “bird” things – another one of those Portlandia inside jokes.
Portland is a great weekend trip, but I wouldn’t go out of your way to fly out there from the east coast unless you plan on doing an entire west coast thing. The city is easily walk-able since the main part of the city you’d want to see is about a 3 square mile area, or you could travel around using the very convenient (and dog-friendly) $1 streetcar.
The city is so jam packed full of microbreweries that you can easily spend a day just brewery hopping. Deschutes was my favorite. The vibe was lively, the space was rustic/hipstery/laid back with a ton of natural lighting. The beer flight at Deschutes I thought had some of the best samples (but that of course is entirely my own opinion) and they had a very “earth” friendly menu which included a fantastic pear and goat cheese pizza. Also, you can stop by Powell’s City of Books afterward – the most ridiculously large bookstore I’ve ever been to. Second favorite was BridgePort, which was a little more modern, almost a little more chain-y, but still a very good beer selection (not as robust as Deschutes though). Try the pretzels there as well. And Rogue came in third, not because the quality was bad. Far from it. It may have just been a victim of the drank too much and didn’t know what was happening by the time we got there scenario…
To the north and west of the downtown districts of the city resides these beautiful outdoor landmarks of Portland. It is totally random but at the same time totally makes sense that Portland would have these outdoor, serene, lush floral parks with no sign of urban life a few blocks away from the bustling city. Adjacent to one another, the Japanese Garden is probably worth visiting before the Rose Test Garden since there is an admission fee (you’ll want to make the most out of your money). Tip – if you do go during the last half hour it’s open, they will waive the standard admission fee and let you pay what you think is fair for the last half hour.
Strolling Pond garden
The Japanese Garden is like walking into a zen paradise – the waterfalls, rock sand gardens and lush fauna and flora really offer you an indescribable relaxation feeling. You could just do nothing but sit and be happy in there. The Rose Test Garden down the path is more like a public park with rows and rows of different species of roses from around the world. It is also very nice, but not as serene with all the activity of people playing Frisbee, taking wedding pictures, etc. A large amphitheater is located next to the Rose Test Garden as well where couples and families can lounge around or picnic.
Additionally, this was unintentional on our part because we got lost, it’s worth finding your way to the Oregon Holocaust Memorial down the street from the two parks. While it’s obviously a somber place, it’s something you won’t regret viewing. Once you’re done with the gardens (or before you go) you can easily walk down into the Nob Hill district to do some boutique shopping and grab an ice cream at Salt and Straw. Try as many flavors as you want, they’re very generous with their samples because their flavors are so unique. They also offer an ice cream flight.
If you go to Portland on the weekend, check out the bustling Portland Saturday Market. Rows and rows of tents hold different arts & crafts, beer/cider tastings (if Atlas Cider is there, give it a try), local clothing, etc. for you to meander through. There are also several of the food trucks that Portland is known for there, and I would highly recommend the Greek gyro truck. When we were there, various street acts were also performing magic and doing other weird…things…(not sure how else to describe a man putting his body through a tennis racket while juggling swords)
Near the Portland Saturday Market is the famous Voodoo Doughnut shop. It’s open 24/7 and was made famous by being on pretty much every Travel Channel show documenting Portland and featured in several others because of their unique doughnuts and unmistakable pink boxes (No joke, I was accosted by 9 different people when I brought a box back to D.C. asking if they could have one or in the case of one business traveler telling me “You brought that from Portland? That is f**king awesome). The line will be long – be prepared to wait.
Mmmm…donuts….
I suffered that cognitive dissonance that traveler’s often face. I wanted to visit Voodoo because it was so well known and a “Portland” thing to do. On the other hand, living in D.C., I hate seeing the long-ass line outside of Georgetown Cupcake and the stupidity of waiting in line for an hour for – a cupcake. So, we were being those people. Fortunately for us, we stopped in at a down hour (4 PM on Sunday) so the line was only about 15 minutes long (it can be an hour during peak times). The doughnut list is so extensive, we just got a dozen of the “Employees Choice” where they just pick good ones for you. Tip: While I still recommend the Employees Choice if you can’t make up your mind, be sure to get one of the Voodoo doll doughnuts. It’s a doughnut shaped like a little man with a pretzel “pin” stabbing it. Our cashier didn’t put one of those in our box and I was sad. Also, the place is cash only.
If you’re in the mood for brunch, check out Mother’s Bistro for a meal. There’s nothing there out of the ordinary, but the food they’ve got is crowd pleasing and filling. I’ll also give a nod to their service – they live up to the “It’s all about the love” slogan. When we asked if we could have a couple of the biscuits that were part of other meals as an addition to our meal, they happily brought them to us free of charge (they probably would have sold at Starbucks for like $5 each because of how huge they are). The biscuits (and the blackberry jam it comes with) are legit awesome, with our waitress calling them “just plain stupid good”. The owner/Chef Lisa also came around to greet us and every other table to see how everything was.
On a recent trip to Philadelphia the other weekend, a friend of mine and I decided to try our hand at two of the most famous cheesesteak shops in Philadelphia. Pat’s King of Steaks and Geno’s Steaks are located literally across the street from one another at the intersection where 9th Street, Passyunk Street and Wharton Street meet. On any given day at any given time that corner is overflowing with people stuffing their faces with bread and meat since both are open 24 hours (so you can get your heart attack in at any time).
Now admittedly, we heard from several locals that these two places are touristy and that some of the best places are actually out in the suburbs (Tony Luke’s for one was a place a local Philly girl swears by). But since we only had a weekend, we had to see what the hype was about.
Here’s a rundown of how they compared:
Both had similarly long lines and both are Cash Only. Geno’s by far has the more elaborate looking shop; it looks like something out of Las Vegas, wheras Pat’s has a more local, sandwich hut type feel. Geno’s easily has the better eating setup: both have picnic tables (about 12 picnic tables or so each), but Geno’s is smart enough to set up standing bar style tables for people to eat along the side of the walls of the shop. But while Geno’s may have the better seating, they get knocked down a notch because of something that made me feel a little uncomfortable. When you’re at the casher, there are signs and pictures up of the owner with a “I want my country back” sign and “This is America, we only take orders in English” and shit like that. Now, I’m not going to use this forum to get too much into it, but as an Asian-American I didn’t feel all that enamoured by that.
Onto the food. When ordering, both places have the “instructions” on how to order your sandwich quickly. Probably no one will do anything if you don’t order it like a local, but they may just get a little annoyed if there is a long wait. You can compare it to putting ketchup on your hot dog in Chicago – they’ll just frown on the out-of-towner. We ordered the same sandwich, “wiz wit”, at both places. If you get the cheesesteaks “wiz wit”, which is the cheese whiz, it’s going to be very, very messy. The steak at Geno’s is a bit more like steak-umm’s flat and solid strips. The steak at Pat’s is more shredded and a little leaner. The bread at Geno’s is more like a traditional sub roll like one you’d get from Jimmy Johns, whereas Pat’s break is a lot fluffier and spongier and more like a roll.
In the end the winner is: Pat’s King of Steaks. You can’t really go wrong with either; it really comes down to a matter of personal preference.
For good measure, we also tried one of Pat’s cheesesteaks with provolone cheese, peppers and mushrooms and that to me was actually the best out of all of them! So if you’re up in Philly, enjoy!
Geno’s
Pat’s
From top to bottom: Pat’s (wiz wit), Geno’s (wiz wit), Pat’s (provolone, pepers, mushrooms)
I’m going to say this right off the bat: Little Serow is my favorite meal experience in Washington, D.C. up to this point. More than living up to the hype, Johnny Monis, the head chef of the famous Komi restaurant (which is regarded by many as the best restaurant in D.C.) has created a cheaper, Asian restaurant right next door. For $45, you get a pre-fixed menu consisting of mainly Thai flavored cuisine. And you’ll be hard pressed to find a better $45 meal anywhere else in the city.
In order to find the restaurant you’ll want to find and face Komi first; Little Serow’s door is the unmarked basement door to the lower left. Keep this in mind: there will most likely be a very long wait. They don’t take reservations, so you have to put your name on the list with the hostess. In most cases, there will be a line JUST to put your name on what usually is a 2-hour wait list. From what we heard, on the weekends that line can even be as long as 20 minutes. It is a ridiculously long wait time to be sure, but it’s worth it. Just plan accordingly, and plan on having a drink at one of the nearby bars while you wait. They will text you when your table is ready, so you can go as far away as you want.
The restaurant itself has very limited seating; there’s only about five tables that seat 4, three tables that seat 2, and one communal large table that seats about 12. The atmosphere is like being in a minimalist kitchen with dim intimate lighting. The music is not too loud and all the waitresses are dressed like mothers or Laura Ingalls’ look alikes. And they were great; perfectly attentive without being too intrusive.
I would typically give a review of each individual food item, but because the menu routinely changes up, there’s no real guarantee that what I’ve tried will be on the menu for you. The menu apparently changes up on a weekly basis. After doing a little research though, it does appear that there are a few staples that are on often regularly on the menu, including the pork ribs on ours.
So even though there’s no point giving individual critiques, as a whole the food was DELICIOUS. There were so many flavors that felt totally new, yet familiar at the same time. The food was very, very spicy too – I cannot stress this enough. The side of vegetables and sticky rice will be your best friend throughout the meal. Our dinner ended up being 7 plates with a small dessert. The standouts on our menu were the mushrooms, which were a unique flavoring of sweet as you first eat it and then spicy as you finish it, and the pork ribs.
To sum it up – try this place. It’s not going to kill your wallet at $45 and you’re guaranteed to experience flavors that you’ve never tasted before. I plan on going back to try some different plates and it only takes a quick look at its critics, Yelp, and TripAdvisor reviews to see a communal appreciation for the place even though several different meals were sampled. For me personally, if Little Serow was this good, I’m more than curious to know what his even more prestigious Komi restaurant is like. It looks like I’ve got something new to save up for. Grade: A
UPDATE: I emailed the restaurant to get a better idea of how much the menu changes. They responded very, very quickly and told me that one item usually changes a week. So if you want to make sure you go back and have a totally different menu, I’d give it a couple months in between visits.
For the Labor Day weekend, a couple friends from D.C. and I decided to take a long overdue trip up to New York City. Being from the east coast and having several friends and relatives living in the city over the course of my lifetime, I’m very familiar with the place (and their horrible professional sports teams). However, the thing that I love about New York is that every time you go, there’s always something new to discover.
For this post, I’m not going to go over the typical New York places to see that we did (a not so full effort to find the bridge from Home Alone 2 in Central Park, the Flatiron building, Time’s Square, etc.), but I’ll give you a rundown of a few places that we went to that were recommended by the locals.
230 Fifth (the name of the place is the address)
Located down the street from the Flatiron Building, this rooftop bar has the best view of the NYC skyline that I’ve ever seen. Bring your camera, you’ll have some great shots of the Empire State Building, Hudson River and in the distance the Freedom Tower. There’s plenty of space on the rooftop, as well as a large, indoor lounge on the top floor of the building, but regardless it does get busy around happy hour. There’s no cover charge, but the drinks will cost you a pretty penny. Because we went during Labor Day the temperature was nice, but the bar does offer red robes for everyone in the winter months.
View from the rooftop at 230 Fifth
Absolute Bagels and Sal & Carmine’s Pizza
We stayed at my buddy’s place on the Upper West Side and these are a few of the quick, and very New York eateries we tried. Realistically, I wouldn’t say to make a dedicated trip up to the Upper West Side to try these places, but if you’re in that area, they are very good options. Absolute Bagels had exactly what you’d expect from a NYC bagel – perfectly warm, soft, but not too chewy bagels with a large variety of cream cheeses and lox. I had a sesame bagel with walnut & raisin cream cheese and it easily trumped any Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Bruggers bagels I’ve ever had. Keep in mind, there will be a line of Columbia University kids (especially on the weekends) and it is CASH ONLY. And of course, only in New York, you have to pay an extra 10 cents to have your bagel toasted.
Delicious breakfast
For a quick lunch, down the street from Absolute Bagels is Sal & Carmine’s Pizza. Like Absolute Bagels, you will walk right by this place if you’re not looking for it – it’s pretty boring looking. But you’re there for the pizza, not the ambiance. And the pizza does not disappoint. Your order will be taken by this really crusty, curmudgeonly old guy (my guess is he was either Sal or Carmine…) but he’s harmless. The cheese slices are $3 and the ones with toppings are $4. As far as slices go, you’d be hard-pressed to find a place with a better New York slice. The slice was very large, and the crust was perfectly thin and crispy. The pizza had the right amount of cheese and was greasy enough without dripping all over the place. It really hits the spot if you have that pizza craving.
Sal & Carmine’s Pizza slices
Rue B
We actually found this place on accident and I’m glad we did. Located on the Lower East Side, Rue B harkens back to the jazz clubs of the past. Dimly lit and intimate, the bar isn’t huge, but has a lot of character. The atmosphere is very chill with vintage black and white photos all along the walls and there’s live blues/jazz music performing. Good place to go if you’re looking for a place to have a relaxing drink or taking a date.
Blind Barber
Pretty much the opposite of Rue B, the Blind Barber is like a speakeasy/dance club that literally has a rundown looking barbershop as its front. There wasn’t really anything special about the place (expensive drinks, dance music, people having fun) other than that random ass barber shop that you need to walk through to get inside. If you do get inside, you’ll probably have a good time if you’re with a group of friends and if you can get the bartender’s attention at the packed bar. And you get to say that you walked through a random ass barbershop to get into a club.
The Manhattan Beer Garden at the Standard
Located in the newly created Chelsea High Line (also definitely worth checking out is the new Chelsea Market as well. We only were able to walk through it though because we were on a mission to drink), this beer garden is a great place to visit if you’re looking for a fun, outdoor (and covered) venue with German big beers and a healthy array of pretzels and sausages. The process for getting draft beers is unique in that you have to buy a ticket for a beer at a separate booth first, then go to the bar and order. Each ticket is $8 (which gets you one beer). If you see a long line, don’t let that dissuade you. It moves quick and will have moments where there’s practically no line if you wait a few minutes. If you’re in that area, but want a more rooftopy bar experience with a more standard drink selection, the Brass Monkey next to the beer garden has a nice rooftop where you can catch some sun and a drink list with more typical libations.
Manhattan Beer Garden at the Standard
Saxon and Parole
For those of you looking for a little bit of a fancier restaurant to eat at, we stumbled upon Saxon and Parole. Admittedly, we were trying to go to the italian restaurant around the corner, but the wait there was an hour long, so we ended up at S & P instead. That being said, I think we were pleasantly surprised. The hanger steak I had was excellent and came with these duck fat fingerling potatoes that were awesome. The cheese plate we ordered as an appetizer was pretty good too, though they were, in my opinion, a little stingy with the amount of cheese given. The service is what takes the place down a notch – it was just a little too slow, though the waiter himself was perfectly fine when he was actually around.
Sing Sing Karaoke
It’s awesome. We went singing there from 1 AM until 4 AM. It’s $8 an hour per person. That’s all that needs to be said.
Saturday Blue Ginger Lounge: 12:00pm-10:00pm
Dinner 5:00pm-10:00pm
Sunday
Dinner 5:00pm-9:00pm
For those of you foodies out there who are familiar with the Asian-European fusion chef Ming Tsai, you probably know of his first restaurant called Blue Ginger. Located in the quiet suburb of Boston called Wellesley, when the restaurant first opened in 1998, it drew rave reviews for its exceptional and (at the time) new fusion type of food. People would come in from all around the country to try this place and its blend of French and Asian flavored cuisine.
In 2013, Blue Ginger doesn’t have as much of the fanfare as it used to have, but the food is still held at its highest standard. It’s very pricey, so for those of you who make a decent living, Blue Ginger is a special occasion type spot. For those of you that make more than a decent living, you probably aren’t reading this review because you’ve been there a dozen times already. I’d say that if you’re visiting Boston, Blue Ginger is only worth coming out to try if you’re in Boston for more than a week, otherwise there’s far more that you should see first in the city. If you’re local however, give it a go for an anniversary celebration, graduation or milestone birthday. Here’s a rundown of what we tried:
Hawaiian Bigeye Tuna Poke with Crispy Sushi Rice Cake and Microgreen-Tosaka Salad – This was probably the favorite dish of the night (including the entrees). It was a strange, but very tasty combination of a huge hunk of sushi style tuna on top of what could be best described as a hot, sticky-rice tater tot. The crunchiness of the rice cake with the soft, light tuna made for a really delightful appetizer – one which I would have been happy having a couple of as the main course.
Blue Ginger Charcuterie Plate – Duck Prosciutto, Foie Gras Torchon and Country Pâté – This is where the French influence comes out. The arrangement of the platter was well done and I thought the extremely rich foie gras was the best of the group. The platter also came with a really good spicy mustard that went well with the prosciutto and pate. I wouldn’t bother too much with the random Texas toast that came with the plate; instead I’d opt for spreading the pâté and foie gras on the sesame seed crackers that are on the table when you first sit. The Texas toast was just too buttery and took away from the flavors of the expensive stuff.
Sake-Miso Marinated Sablefish (a.k.a. Butterfish) with Wasabi Oil, Soy-Lime Syrup and Vegetarian Soba Noodle Sushi – This butterfish is considered Ming Tsai’s signature dish, and I could see why. Of the three entrees we had, it was easily the best. There wasn’t anything too fancy done with the fish and you’d probably be able to find a similar dish at a number of restaurants, but they do get points for perfect execution. It was cooked exactly the way it should have been – a nice, light char on the outside and light buttery meat on the inside. They did try and get cute with the Soba Noodle Sushi side, but I didn’t actually care for that all that much.
Garlic-Black Pepper Lobster with Lemongrass Fried Rice and Pea Tendril Salad with Tamari-Ginger Vinaigrette – The waitress said this is also a favorite of customers coming to Blue Ginger. Lobster is never bad, so I’ll say that while it wasn’t disappointing, there was just a little too much garlic for my taste getting in the way of the lobster. I’m sort of a lobster traditionalist where I want just the meat and a little butter, or a plain ol’ lobster roll. Again, that being said, just because it wasn’t my cup of tea doesn’t mean it wasn’t very delicious.
Seared Duck Breast with Sweet Wasabi Sauce and Applewood Smoked Duck Leg Wild Fried Rice with Shiso-Bartlett Pear Purée– This third entree was probably the most “eh” of the three. The flavor of the duck was very pronounced which saved the dish, but the meat was a little too tough/chewy and the skin wasn’t crispy enough for our taste. If they had slow cooked the duck a little more like Peking duck style, it could have easily been the best of the three.
Overall though the food was excellent. That being said, these days there are so many new restaurants, television shows, and food celebrities that Blue Ginger almost feels like an aging veteran. This is both a good and bad thing. It’s bad because despite its success, the menu and atmosphere feel “standard” with nothing nuanced and that nothing has really evolved since it first broke down the barrier between French and Asian cuisine. The good thing though is that it’s still a sure thing. What they do well, they’ve done well for years, and it’s the kind of place that I’m sure very rarely disappoints. Grade: B+
I think at some point everyone just wants to get away from it all. For those living in an urban area, an escape from the city noise, computers, and hustle & bustle is all that one could want for a few days.
Keep a close eye for the “Rushford” sign on the road. It’s very small, and you can easily drive right by the driveway if you’re not paying attention.
For my friends and I, we decided to take a recent “escape” trip to Burlington, VT. Now I know what you’re thinking, and yes it was kind of random. The reasoning was that A) Memorial Day was a good time for all of us to reunite, and B) a friend of ours was running the Vermont City Marathon in Burlington so we figured – why don’t we all just go up? So we rented a house on Lake Champlain, about 20 minutes outside of Burlington, VT.
If you’re looking for a really nice getaway place, I’d recommend checking this house out. It’s got three bedrooms with queen beds, one bedroom with two full sized beds, and one bedroom with a full size bed and two bunk beds. There is also a random bedroom with a queen bed out in the driveway on its own, sort of like an annex (to this day, I’m still not totally sure how and/or why there’s a single bedroom/hut out there…).
The canoe ride on the lake is really pleasant on a nice day
The house is fully furnished with a kitchen, porch, gas grill, and two bathrooms. There is only one shower (and a shower outside), and although we thought that would be a problem for the 8-10 of us, it ended up not really being an issue. The hot water for the shower stayed good and heated for several back to back showers as well. DirecTV and wireless internet are available as well.
The one thing to keep in mind, the house doesn’t have heating. There’s a nice gas fireplace on the first floor, but for the nights upstairs it can get chilly. That being said, there were A LOT of blankets available so you can bundle up.
Plenty of yard space for all sorts of games
Easily the best amenity of the house is its rock dock with fire pit. Out there you can cook up some s’mores, take out the available canoe or motorboat, or try and get lucky with the fishing equipment. Along with that there are available bikes to take out, as well as plenty of yard space for bocce or cornhole. The yard also includes a volleyball net and a horseshoe court.
The house is perfect for any group bigger than 5-6 or for a family vacation. As for the pricing, for the long Memorial Day weekend we had the place for $1,200 pre-tax, $1,308 post-tax for the Friday through Thursday (these prices do probably fluctuate based on the season).
Family dinnerLate night s’mores at the fire pit
Here’s the contact information if you’re interested in renting out the house:
Marcia Rushford
dmrushford@aol.com 263 W Shore Rd
South Hero, VT 05486
I’ll be back soon with the rest of my Israel postings, but I had to interrupt with this quick post. For some reason, I’ve been to Austin, TX quite a few times in the past couple of years, so I’ve had a chance to give a lot of the barbecue in the city a try.
Easily the best brisket I’ve had not just in Austin but, well, in life was at Franklin Barbecue. Located just outside the main downtown of Austin, you’ll be able to spot it with no trouble by the crowd standing in line to get in. Doors open at 11 am (only for lunch), and when we got there around noon there was already a one hour wait. I know it sounds like a long time, but it’s worth the wait.
Because of the limited supply of meat they have each day, they don’t guarantee that they’ll have what you want once you get up to the register. Waiters walk down the line every few minutes to give people an update on what supply is left. Unfortunately for us, they had run out of ribs by the time we were able to order, but the brisket they let us sample (and that we eventually ordered) more than made up for it. Moist, flavorful, fatty, meaty – it was done perfectly.
And they do not cheat you; for $13 you can get two meats and two sides with bread. I opted with the brisket and sausage. I could have taken the slabs of meat they flopped down on the plate and the two sides and made three meals out of it. In hindsight – I wish I just gotten the $10 one meat plate, skipped the sausage since it was “eh”, but just had the brisket to die for.
Days: Tuesday–Sunday, CLOSED all Mondays Hrs: 11am–sold out (just open for lunch)
900 E. 11th, Austin, TX 78702
Waiters will come outside and sell beverages while you wait to get in
There’s limited seating inside, but there is a bit more outside
Here and There 