North America – Page 4 – Here and There

February 25, 2013February 26, 2013

A couple of Boston’s best pizza offerings from the Boston Guide

Taking a quick break from the Israel postings for a bit here, you may recall that I’m always looking for write-ups from readers such as yourself. This blog is meant to be as comprehensive as possible and I love it when you folks are as enthusiastic as I am about traveling!

With that, one of my best friends was kind enough to share his thoughts on what are arguably the two best pizza joints in Boston. You can call him the “Boston Guide”. Having lived in Boston all his life, he certainly knows what he’s talking about (especially when it comes to food) and I fully support his reviews having been a patron at both pizza places myself as well. Buon Appetito and thank you again “Boston Guide”!

Regina Pizzeria
11 1/2 Thacher Street
Boston, MA 02113

Hours of operation:

Sun-Thu
11:00am -11:30pm
Fri & Sat
11:00am -12:30am

Santarpio’s Pizza
111 Chelsea Street
East Boston, MA 02128

*** CASH ONLY

Hours of operation:

Mon-Thu
11:30am – 11pm
Fri & Sat
11:30am – 11:30pm
Sun
Noon – 11:00pm

Boston may not have a namesake pizza “style” like New York or Chicago, but if you’re looking for a pie that defines the local style on your next visit to Boston, check out Regina’s or Santarpio’s.

Regina’s and Santarpio’s specialize the same general type of pizza. Both serve up thin crust pies perfectly charred in wood ovens – crispy on the outside and fantastically doughy on the inside. The tomato sauce is light, tangy and sweet. Topped off with sharp, salty cheese.

Deciding which place you like more really comes down to the details. I’m not going to try to pick a winner here because both places are awesome. Instead, I’ll give you the information you need to decide which works best for your next trip to Boston. Of course, you can’t go wrong with both.

Quick Tips

1. This is a review of the Regina’s in the North End – not the Regina’s branches. There are a bunch of Regina’s branches scattered around town (South Station, Prudential mall, etc.) that don’t hold a candle to the original. Skip the branches.

2. Don’t try to go to Regina’s during peak hours. Regina’s is a tourist attraction in a touristy section of the city. Don’t let that scare you away from Regina’s or the North End – you should check out the North End when you visit Boston – just understand that if you show up at Regina’s during meal times you will be standing in line out on the street for a while.

3. Both Regina’s and Santarpio’s have bars, so you can wash down your pizza with beer or wine.

4. Go to Santarpio’s if you’re looking for: a meal on your way in or out from Logan Airport (it’s just minutes away from the airport by car), the best sausage pizza in the city, a heartier slice, or local Boston flavor.

5. Go to Regina’s if you’re looking for: a meal in the North End, the best pepperoni pizza in the city, variety on the menu.

Santarpio’s

In overly simplified terms, Santarpio’s is the heavier, heartier pizza. The crust is heartier, more charred. Whereas Regina’s dusts their crust with a light flour, Santarpio’s trademark is a coarse cornmeal crunch. Check out the legendary, delicious sausages cooking over open fire by the entrance.

Similarly, the Santarpio’s experience is a bit rougher around the edges. Whereas Regina’s is packed with tourists, Santarpio’s is all local. Expect: servers with thick Boston accents and some Boston attitude, local youth hockey teams eating after practice, the guy in the booth next to you talking about the “top 5 coldest Pats games” he’s ever sat through.

Expert Order: Sausage pizza, bring cash (‘Tarp’s is cash only)

Regina’s

Regina’s plain cheese slice is just about perfect – light, crispy, salty and sweet. The menu also includes all the standard topings, as well as a variety of specialty pizzas. I prefer to keep it simple – I think that lots of toppings can take away from a great slice – but Regina’s provides more variety than Santarpio’s if that’s what you’re into.

As mentioned above, Regina’s is a popular tourist destination. Don’t expect anything fancy though. Regina’s is still a no-frills pizza joint.

Expert Order: Pepperoni pizza (well done), white pizza (this pizza doesn’t include Regina’s awesome red sauce so make sure you get the pepperoni as well).

Perfect Alternative

If the line at Regina’s is too long, or if you’re just looking for a quick slice to carry out, Ernesto’s in the North End is a perfect alternative. Choose from a wide variety of pies and keep in mind that Ernesto’s slices are HUGE. For the full experience, carry out and eat in nearby Christopher Columbus Park with great views of Boston Harbor.

September 22, 2012September 22, 2012

Las Vegas, NV

In general, I adhere to the saying “What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas” so I won’t go too much into the details of my time in Sin City – but I will give you all a general idea of the things we did and saw. If you do Vegas right, you’ll only really need about three or four days before you get drained out.

Tip if you’re going to Vegas from L.A.: If you can afford to fly, then fly and don’t drive. Google will tell you the drive takes around 3 hours. With all the traffic, the drive ended up taking us like 7 hours from L.A.

They don’t call it America’s playground for nothing. The city is an absolute shitshow, especially on the weekends. People are spilling in and out of hotels (most with libations in hand), the streets are filled with Transformers, Victoria Secret Angels, Michael Jacksons, you name it, and the Las Vegas “slappers” are out in force trying to get you to take one of the porno pamphlets they slap in your face.

When we finally did get ourselves settled in (it was around 10 PM), the night was just starting. The hotel we were staying at was Treasure Island. Located relatively close to the middle of the strip (the prime hotel locations are places like the Bellagio and Cosmopolitan), TI has been completely renovated and the new rooms are surprisingly modern for what looks like an older hotel on the outside. If you stay there, try and get a room facing the back or side or else the fire and explosions of the nightly “Sirens of TI” show go off right outside your window. (Note: The show itself is pretty cheesy, so I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it. But if you happen to be in the area, it’s free so you may as well check it out.)

While the rooms look like they got a little work done to them, the casino itself isn’t really anything to write home about. The pool area is decent, and the expected club music and drunk flashing occurred, but as far as pool parties go – Treasure Island’s was pretty tame, but fun (tame for Las Vegas you must realize is a crazy, shitshow anywhere else. The word shitshow is clearly being used a lot in this post).

One thing you should definitely check out is a Cirque du Soleil show at some point and TI has one of the oldest running performances called Mystere. If you’re unfamiliar with Cirque du Soleil, it’s one of the most impressive acrobatic shows around – you’ll see feats of strength, balance, and agility that you wouldn’t think are humanly possible. The members of the cast really are some of the best performers and straight up athletes you’ll ever see on stage. One part of Mystere that blew my mind was the performance of two bodybuidlers who (and I’ll try to explain this as best I can) slowly, lifted each other in crazy positions using only one arm or leg, or hamstring or whatever to form what could best be described as bizarre, homoerotic sculptures.

Aside from Treasure Island here are few other highlights:

STK
We decided to treat ourselves to a really nice dinner on one of the nights, and STK was the choice. STK is the steak restaurant at the top floor of the atrium in Cosmopolitan. Take your time walking up there and you can see the amazing chandelier bar that is 4 levels encased in a ginormous chandelier. You’ll also pass the notoriously swanky club “Marquee” which is literally the hottest place to be in Vegas right now. You’ll see no shortage of young ladies in dresses that are no bigger than my neck warmer flowing into the club and masses of dudes in their best collared shirts who have no chance of getting in unless they’re ready to drop like $2000 or are arm in arm with a cadre of hotties.

Back to the restaurant – we made it to the top finally – and had a reservation for 11:00. If it’s the weekend don’t plan on sitting at your reservation time. When all was said and done, we finally got our table at 11:45 – let’s just say it was the nighttime version of brunch. Although the restaurant is a “steak” restaurant, it didn’t have that quiet, fancy feel. The music was so loud that even when we were sitting in our booth, our seats were vibrating from the bass.

The prices are expensive, so be ready to pay out a handful. However, they weren’t any more expensive than a nice steak place in any other city. Because I was already past my budget for the trip, I went with the 12 oz. skirt steak, which probably is their most affordable, but not as high quality cut choice. I can only imagine what the $50-$60 steaks must be like because the skirt that I ordered was actually really damn good. Extremely juicy, and came with its own steak sauce (You don’t need to pay for one of the extra ones on the menu, the standard dipping sauce is quite good) which gave the steak a very robust, meaty flavor. The mac and cheese side was also well done, served in a tradition iron cast bowl with the perfect proportion of cheesy, creamy, bread crumby goodness. Grade: B+ only because I don’t like not being able to hear any conversation and when my table is bouncing while I eat.

Dealertainers at Imperial Palace
Who doesn’t want to play blackjack with Michael Jackson, Elvis, or Lady Gaga as your dealer? Don’t get scared off by the construction as they remodel the hotel – the Dealertainers are worth checking out as they perform on stage and stay in character as you try to hit 21.

River through the Venetian
No need to travel thousands of miles to see the rivers through Venice. Vegas provides their own version of it at the Venetian Hotel. Like everything else in Vegas, it’s absolutely ridiculous in the best way. Shops line the indoor river as gondolas flow back and forth through the hotel.

Lion Habitat at MGM
Make sure to walk through the MGM Hotel not only to see the indoor amusement park, but to walk through the Lion Habitat. If you time it right, you’ll be able to see the lion caretakers in the habitat with the majestic animals and hear their talk.

Fountains at Bellagio
Due in part to the ending of Ocean’s Eleven, the Fountains at the Bellagio have become an icon of Las Vegas. Chances are you’ll walk by the hotel several times since it’s located at the middle of the strip and if you time it right, you’ll catch one of the fountain shows that run every 15 minutes.

There’s no way to get all the activities that one can do in Las Vegas into one blog post (and I obviously left the naughtier bits out). When it comes down to it, there’s no shortage of things to see or places to have fun. It’s like the entire world shrunk into one city – everything is big, bright and in excess. You just have to experience the sensory overload for yourself. Go play.

September 3, 2012September 3, 2012

Los Angeles, CA highlights

Twice a year my company holds a sales meeting out near the headquarters in Thousand Oaks, CA. In meetings past, the location has been in places like Santa Monica or San Diego, but it’s always around the southern California area giving many of us remote East Coasters and Midwesterners a chance to see the sunny West Coast on our company’s dime.

Obviously, this is a work trip so much of the time is spent in conference rooms, but my company does do its best to treat their employees well and take us out for group activities. And usually after the meetings, most of us take the weekend to enjoy being on the west coast for a little vacation. Here’s a recap of a few of the highlights during that trip.

Westlake Village Inn – Our meetings were held at the hotel where we all stayed. Located in Westlake Village, this resort isn’t really located in any sort of “going out” type area, but is ideal for those looking to get away and enjoy the southern California weather in peace. Because of the size of the resort and the picturesque pond it surrounds, the hotel is a great location for meetings or weddings (my co-worker’s aunt being one such bride). The rooms are extremely comfy, each with a little deck to sit out on and they make you feel like you’re crashing at a rich friend’s summer home. FYI – my deck light was really bright which flooded into the room at night – keep that in mind for you light sleepers.

The resort is also adjacent to a golf course for those looking to play a few holes (and was right outside the meeting room window for all of us to jealously look out onto). Also, Bogie’s bar in the resort apparently is the hot place to be on weekend nights, but since our meeting was during the week I can’t confirm whether or not that’s actually true. The bar itself though was pretty fun when we were there and has a lot of outdoor seating. And finally, the pool and gym are both a little small, which is surprising considering how much nicer the rest of the resort is.

View from my balcony at Westlake Village Inn

While the food was actually quite good at the resort, there are a slew of restaurants within a few miles of the resort. A couple that I’d recommend are :

Cisco’s, a local mexican chain with fantastic Samuel Adams Beer Battered fish tacos and massive margaritas.
Boccacio’s, which is situated on Westlake lake and has a tremedous view of the Santa Monica mountains. I would highly recommend the Chilean Sea Bass.

Sunstone Winery – Located in Santa Ynez, CA, this was the first of many wineries I would visit in the days to come (stay tuned). Fans of the movie Sideways will recognize this area as the setting of Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden Church’s escapades. And while the vineyard at Sunstone was beautiful and the wine tasty, the 2 hour drive from L.A. only makes the venue worth a visit if you’re in L.A. for an extended period of time and if it’s a nice enough day to enjoy the coastal drive up. If you do decide to visit, the tour is very informative and the tasting room at the end allows you to sample several of their vintages and olive oils – be sure to try the garlic olive oil.

The Beverly Hilton Hotel – Renown for hosting the Golden Globe Awards and more recently, the site of the death of singer Whitney Houston, the Beverly Hilton Hotel has a long history of hosting the rich and famous (myself included). Located at the heart of Beverly Hills, the hotel itself surprisingly seems rather old in some ways, but also new in others. The resort is the type that has a weird Rat Pack feel to it, but also is the type that has TVs in the bathroom. Our room was located very conveniently by the pool (literally, we could walk out of our room and the pool was four yards in front of us), and we took advantage of this by going for late night swims at 2-3 in the morning that the staff didn’t seem to mind.

TMZ Hollywood Tour– I’m not a TMZ fan, I’ve only seen parts of it on parodies such as The Soup. But when our friend suggested we go on TMZ’s bus tour (he’s a big TMZ fan), I decided to roll with the punches and go with it. In actuality, the 2 hour bus tour starting at Mann’s Chinese Theater was quite entertaining and gives you a pretty good “paparazzi’s” eye of Hollywood.

Don’t go on this thinking you’ll see huge celebrity houses in Beverly Hills. Rather, you’ll go down Rodeo Drive to see million dollar cars and stores, drive by Beverly Hills Police HQ and the comedy club where Kramer famously dropped the “N” word over and over again. You’ll also see notorious hotels (where Cher and Elton John own the top floors), sidewalks where naughtiness occured (the curb where Hugh Grant got caught), and restaurants where celebrities frequent (we apparently just missed Halle Barry at one of her favorites). It’s a trashy tour at best, but I can’t say that I wasn’t throughly amused throughout the ride.

Recognize the hotel? It’s the one from Pretty Woman.

Jimmy Kimmel Live – Probably one of the top experiences of the summer was being able to sit in the audience during the taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live. One of my co-workers was able to get a few of us tickets through an old college friend of hers who works at the show. We definitely let the feeling sink in as we walked past the crowds waiting in line outside for tickets and into the backdoor “Green Room” entrance. We were all hoping that we might get a glimpse of the evening’s guests, Jennifer Garner (Alias) or Paul Scheer (The League) back there, but we weren’t that lucky. After downing a couple free beers, they escorted us into the studio where we were entertained by a comedian who gave away t-shirts for various different reasons. The studio itself was shockingly smaller than how it looks on television and when Kimmel came out to do his stand up routine at the beginning, he’s practically in the front row. Obviously, his TV personality isn’t going to be the same as his off camera personality, but Kimmel was certainly friendly enough to the crowd in-between the recordings and entertained us with back and forth banter between him, the band, and Guillermo (his famous Latino sidekick).

No pictures allowed inside, so this is us outside getting into the Green Room. No Guillermo at the door unfortunately.

We were lucky enough to have crowd pleasing guests in Jennifer Garner (who is as hot in person as on TV by the way) and Paul Scheer, so the crowd’s laughter didn’t need to be forced. The musical guest was The Fixx, who before that night I had not heard of and my guess is most of the crowd hadn’t either, so we were strongly told to cheer louder (and we even had to re-tape on of the songs because the audience wasn’t into it enough). Funny part was that when we watched it later that night, they only showed one of three songs that they sung, and not the one that they re-sang. It was a great experience overall and certainly made the Los Angeles experience that much more authentic.

On a final side note: I was surprised at how much seedier Hollywood was than I thought. Yes, the Hollywood Walk of Fame is pretty cool to see, but the sidewalks were packed with the homeless, drunks and solicitors. Definitely not a place where I’d spend a lot of time, but glad I saw it to say I did.

Up next: We jumped in a car and headed our way to Las Vegas.

September 1, 2012

Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co.

2121 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 248-2570

***NO RESERVATIONS
***CASH ONLY

MONDAY – THURSDAY	4PM-11PM
FRIDAY	4PM-MIDNIGHT
SATURDAY	11:30AM-MIDNIGHT
SUNDAY	11:30AM-11PM

Chicago, Illinois is considered by many to be the New York City of the Midwest. And while there are many similarities, there are several differences that make each city unique. One of those differences is the style of pizza. I think unless you live on Mars or a farm in Wyoming or something, you know that Chicago has the deep-dish style pizza and New York has the thin crust. As a native New Englander, I always prefer thin crust, but like they say, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”.

I’ve been to Chicago several times and been to many of their famous deep dish pizza joints, such as the original Pizzeria Uno. But this last trip I took, my friends brought me to an even more unorthodox pizza venue. As locals, they say it’s one of the best pizza places in the city. Now, I’ll say this right off the bat – it’s a good pizza place that WILL NOT satisfy a pizza craving.

Sounds weird right? I’ll say it again – if you’re really craving a thin slice, or personal pan deep dish, this is not the place to go. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try the Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co. if you’re looking for a good meal.

Located non-descriptly in a block of row houses, the venue is small and doesn’t take reservations, so expect to wait. While we waited, we split a bottle of wine out on the sidewalk, which may or may not have been legal, but it seemed to be an acceptable practice among the several others waiting.

The interior has a cool, woody, cabin feel – very much like a family summer home you might have. The atmosphere is lively and loud, as they’ve packed as many people as they can into what is essentially an english basement. The menu itself is simple, with their signature dish, “The Pizza Pot Pie” highlighting the options and to be honest, I don’t think many people order anything else. You can order a half-pound or one pound “Pizza Pot Pie”. This isn’t a deep dish. You have to use a knife and fork. And like the name of it says, it literally is like a pot pie made of all pizza ingredients. If you’re hungry, a half-pound is a perfect size (I was starving and wasn’t able to finish it).

The pot pie was very good. The ingredients inside as a mix gave it sort of a cheesey, meaty calzone consistency that made me think “this is like the ultimate poor man’s comfort food”. You can’t help but feel very blue collar as you spoon forkful after forkful of cheese, meat, thick tomato sauce and dough into your mouth. I could see how this place would be the spot to be in the cold winter months. I would say that only thing I had against it was that it was too doughy for my taste and I could feel myself bloating up with each carbo-loaded bite.

I’d also recommend getting one of their salads and the surprisingly, really good Mediterranean bread. I really like Olive Garden salads and this salad and dressing takes the Olive Garden salad to the next level (it actually blows it away). The flatbread comes out on a plate that’s too small for it and the edges flop down on the table. You have to tear pieces of it off like you’re at an Ethiopian restaurant. Be sure to dip the bread in the salad dressing and make sure not to fill yourself up too much.

The simplicity of the restaurant was great – no nonsense, small menu, homestyle fare. I throughly enjoyed the meal, but I’ll say that I probably wouldn’t find myself going their regularly ONLY because I’m not the type that would “crave” that style of pizza that often. That being said, it was a fun place with a unique twist on a crowd pleasing food and the pot pie was delicious enough to make you forget you had any sort of thin crust or deep dish craving beforehand. Grade: B

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July 29, 2012July 30, 2012

Medium Rare

MEDIUM RARE
3500 CONNECTICUT AVE. N.W
WASHINGTON DC 20008

Dinner Daily 5:PM – 10:30PM
Friday & Saturday until 11:PM
Brunch Sunday 11:AM – 2:30PM

I may have found the best deal in Washington, D.C. last night. Medium Rare was on my long list of restaurants to try in Washington, D.C. and last night I had the opportunity to give it a go. Located conveniently at the top of the Cleveland Park metro stop, Medium Rare on the outside looks like another non-chalant restaurant on the bustling street. But the venue is far from bland.

If you’re looking for a steak – this is a place you need to try, and don’t come here looking for anything else because they won’t have it. And I mean that literally. The schtick is that Medium Rare has pretty much one item on their menu – their prefixed menu that includes their steak, signature sauce, french fries, side salad and bread for a very, very affordable $19.95. I was skeptical at first – where are you gonna find a really good steak meal for $20? Well, Medium Rare does just that.

The restaurant doesn’t take reservations, but that’s not a problem because the longest you’ll ever have to wait is 10-15 minutes (when there’s no real menu choice, the meal process is that much faster). After getting seated, we order drinks – the drink menu has 5 red wine options, 3 white wine options, a couple sparking wines, and 4 different draft beers, and they present us with a loaf of perfectly warm, flaky crusty bread and warm butter.

Two “MR”s to designate that we wanted our steak medium rare

The waitress then explains to us how the place works and that we get the salad, then the steak and fries, then another plate of fries (which I thought was weird that they top off with that, but more on that later). She asks us how we’d like our steaks cooked, and we obviously go for medium rare, which she marks in crayon on the table where we sit.

First we get our salad, which was essentially an Olive Garden salad – a solid starter, but nothing special. A few minutes later our steaks arrive with a side of fries. The steak is delicious. It’s probably about 8 oz. and sliced into 5 pieces with the Medium Rare sauce drizzled all over it. The sauce reminded me of that fantastic steak place we went to in Lisbon. The steak was cooked perfectly (peppery, charry, but not burnt outside, and dark pink, juicy on the inside), and while it didn’t melt in my mouth like the steak in Lisbon, it was still so good. The McDonald’s style fries complimented the steak as well and were probably a little better than Micky D’s because they were a little more golden brown and thicker.

Now the meal as it stood would have been worth the $20. I was savoring each bite and eating pretty slowly in order to stretch the experience out. The two women at the table next to us hardly touched their steak and were getting it boxed, which astounded me. Then the waitress came back, with a pan in hand and that’s when I understood. I had misheard her at the beginning – we weren’t just getting a second plate of just fries. We were getting a second plate of steak and fries!

Yeah, that was pretty much my face when the second helping of steaming hot steak and fries landed on my plate. They also provided an additional little jar of the sauce to apply at your discretion. It’s a genius idea – getting the meal in two portions promises that the steak and fries will always be hot instead of getting one big 16 oz steak and fries and letting it cool off towards the end.

They do have desert, but we opted to pass. Though the few we saw on other tables looked pretty awesome, and HUGE, so keep that in mind if you decide you want to end with something sweet. And here’s one last quirky thing about Medium Rare: they give you a piece of Bazooka Joe bubble gum with your check.

Medium Rare is probably my new favorite restaurant. The food, ambiance, price, and fast service are all perfectly in tune with what I want in a meal out. Obviously, if you want something other than steak, then don’t go to there. But if you want an delicious, affordable steak meal – go to Medium Rare. Grade: A

Here’s a review from my friends at Boobs Bacon Bourbon of the brunch that they offer: http://www.boobsbaconbourbon.com/2012/07/24/medium-rare-best-brunch-deal-in-dc/

July 7, 2012July 7, 2012

Rafting/Tubing/Camping

Before I begin I need to say that this blog post is being done because I have no interest in going outside into the ridiculously hot, muggy weather we’ve got here in D.C. This really is the nastiest I have ever felt it being outside in my life.

This weather is just a continuation of the heat wave that has hit the U.S. which started the day my friends and I went whitewater rafting/tubing and camping. It’s a funny story about our experience that weekend. We decided to go whitewater rafting in the morning and tubing in the afternoon with River & Trail Outfitters near Harpers Ferry on the Shenandoah/Potomac Rivers ($83 a person). The ride from Washington, D.C. is about an hour. Little did we know that the oppressive heat during that day would be the cause of a ridiculously violent storm that night. More on that later.

The River & Trail organization is top notch with knowledgable raft guides and they did a really nice job helping us plan the day. For the whitewater rafting in the morning, they served us lunch on an island partway through the trip consisting of some remarkably good fried chicken, potato salad and watermelon (vegetarian options are available as well on request). The rafting itself however was a little disappointing. The water level was too low, so we ended up doing much more getting our raft off of rocks than actually paddling through rapids. So here’s a tip: Try to find a weekend when the dams are opening. The water level is higher and the rapids are continuous on the river throughout. Also, in the event that you do like your raft guide, have a few dollars in your pocket (even if they get wet), because by the time we got on the bus back to the car and all that – getting money to your guide might slip your mind as it did our group (Sorry, Nate).

For the tubing in the afternoon, we drove our car down to the tubing launch point after the whitewater rafting trip was done. Keep this in mind – by the time we got to the tubing, it was already around 3 so if you want to do both, know that the whitewater rafting will probably cut into the afternoon tubing time. Most of the companies around Harpers Ferry that run tubing trips launch from the same point on the Shenandoah River, so be sure to compare prices first between River & Trail Outfitters, Adventure Center (formerly known as Butts Tubes, I guess they wanted to be taken more seriously), and River Riders to see where you can get the best deal.

The float down can take anywhere from an hour to two depending on how fast the current is and it is most definitely a relaxing time. Don’t forget to put on your sunscreen even while you’re on the water! Also, don’t worry about the rules saying no alcohol – you can bring whatever you want in coolers and most of those companies provide cooler tubes for $10 or so (River Riders have really nice yellow, large life raft looking tubes that fit a large coolers FYI). Also, here’s another tip: don’t forget rope. It’s more fun to float when you’re able to stay near your friends without needing to paddle constantly, and if you want to anchor yourselves to the middle of the river.

So after our little water baking/napping/drinking float we headed our way to Greenbrier State Park. Greenbrier is about 30 minutes away from Harpers Ferry and for $25 a night you can book a tent spot, each with a picnic table and firepit/grill. Note: the summer weekends and holidays will require you to book a least 2 nights. The campground is really nice, with a beach and lake for swimming and some pretty decent hiking trails all around. Also, there are several bathrooms/showers in the area that are remarkably very clean, as well as several drinking water fountains and convenient dumpsters located on the driveway out of the park. The park also does host activities such as bingo, outdoor movies, and things of that nature on the summer weekends.

The one drawback is that some of the campsites are really close to each other, so when you choose your site to reserve online, try and find one that “looks” like its a little bit apart from the rest or else your tent could easily be a few yards away from your neighbor (who could be a loud 10 year-old kid or something).

So we get to the campsite and because we were on the water all day, we had no idea that a massive, historically bad thunderstorm was on its way to the area (apparently known as a “derecho” – http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/derecho-behind-washington-dcs-destructive-thunderstorm-outbreak-june-29-2012/2012/06/30/gJQA22O7DW_blog.html). The ranger told us we need to “batten down” as we were in the direct line of where the storm was heading. Obviously we took this as, “Oh it’s gonna rain, that sucks”. So we set up our tents, and started grilling our dinner (dum-dee-dum). Tip: bring more coal than you think you’ll need. Those fire pits don’t hold the heat in as well as a Weber grill so you need to keep pouring on the charcoal to keep the heat going.

Luckily for us, our grilling was just wrapping up when the rain came down – and boy did it come down. We took shelter in one of the tents that, while water resistant, still was leaking all over us as we tried to play cards. The thunder and lightning were pretty much continuous for most of the night. I ended up sleeping in my car because the tent I was maybe planning on sleeping in with my buddy had flooded because the window in that tent was accidently left open (Tip: Don’t leave your tent window open in the middle of a thunderstorm…stupid).

In the end we survived the experience and despite the heat and rain, it certainly was better than being in the office. I would recommend both River & Trail and Greenbrier if you ever do want to plan a trip such as ours in the Harpers Ferry region. And here’s to good weather when you go.

June 20, 2012June 20, 2012

Bandolero

Bandolero
3241 M St NW
Washington, DC 20007
202.625.4488

Bar opens at 4pm Monday – Wednesday
Dinner service begins at 5pm.

MONDAY – TUESDAY
4pm – 10pm

WEDNESDAY
4pm – 11pm

THURSDAY – SATURDAY
12pm – 11pm
bar and until 12am

SUNDAY
12pm – 10pm

Mike Isabella has certainly been keeping himself busy. The Top Chef contestant fame recently opened up a second restaurant in the Washington, D.C. area with the same small plate style offerings that he’s known for. While Graffiato is his restaurant with small plate italian offerings, Bandolero is a mexican twist on the small plates – again not to be confused with tapas. Similar in look and feel to Graffiato, the downstairs level of Bandolero has a loud bar and and open kitchen and the upstairs has a quieter dining room. However, Bandolero promises to be far busier than Graffiato with its location right on M street in the heart of Georgetown, so be prepared to see a lot of the yuppie types drinking and dining there.

Because the restaurant just opened last month, the service was extremely attentive – but almost too attentive. Our waitress, while very polite, friendly, and on top of everything, was almost suffocating with the amount of times she came over to check in on us. My guess is this will tone down once Bandolero has been open for a while. That was pretty much the only really negative thing I could say about the place. The cocktail list is impressive and the margaritas are excellent. The food was quite good, but priced in the same way that Graffiato prices its food – expensive, small portioned, but high quality.

Despite what our waitress said about each person usually getting 2 or 3 plates for their own – I was quite content with splitting 4 plates between two people (that being said, some of the small plates may be larger than others). Here’s a quick review of what we tried:

El Mata Amigos Margarita – super tasty, but because they use seasonal fruits to make it the one you get might not be what we had, which was pickled pear. In all honestly however, it tasted at first like a spiked watermelon sherbet cooler which was awesome on a humid 90 degree Washington, D.C. summer day.

Guacamole – very good, but probably not worth $13. I’ve had similarly good guacamole at other restaurants, so while it was very good – it wasn’t standout. They do give you a healthy portion to dip your chips and chicarrones (what I’m pretty sure were large pork rinds) in as well as a side of spicy salsa.

Crispy Mahi Mahi Taco – order comes with two fish tacos and the Mahi Mahi is crisp to perfection. Sprinkle some lime juice on there and it makes for a really, really awesome fish stick taco (I try to say that without it sounding too sarcastically…though that’s what it was).

Suckling Pig Taco – the waitresses recommendation, order comes with three pork tacos with a healthy helping of shredded pork and pork skin on each. You can taste a fair amount of spiciness from the habenero, and while I thought it was still a little dry for my palate – it’s worth giving it a try.

Alambres – my favorite dish of the meal, the order comes with four silver dollar sized spiced hangar steaks. The meat was definitely spicy and it was matched well with the morsel of chimichurri sauce that accompanied each piece of meat. The meat itself was cooked to a perfect medium rare.

So all in all Bandolero gives you a fun dining experience, but at a pretty penny. Because of the location and the way the food is prepared, this is a pretty great place to take a date. So, like Graffiato, I would only recommend going there if you have a special occasion and you’re not famished because while the food is good, you don’t want to regret not going to the Chipotle next door because you didn’t know what you were getting into at Bandolero. Grade: B+

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May 25, 2012May 25, 2012

Norfolk, VA

You may remember that I had a guest post about Hampton Roads, VA previously in my blog. I hadn’t yet been down there myself until recently; my buddy and I decided to hop in the Subaru and take a trip down to visit our co-worker (and author of the guest post) who had just moved back home to Norfolk, VA.

First tip when driving down to the Virginia Beach area from the north – don’t bother leaving on a Friday after 3. From what I understand from several Norfolk people is that the highways are almost always jam-packed during that time (and during the summer months it’s pretty much a sure thing). Try and get out on the road in the morning or Saturday morning to avoid the congestion.

Without traffic, the ride down there takes about three hours from D.C. When we first arrived, I was immediately struck by how many hipsters there were – this was highly unexpected. The city itself was also smaller than I expected (since I had heard it was a Navy town), but I found out later that the F-18’s fly around over Virginia Beach which is a few miles down the road. The city was definitely still large enough to have some nice distinct neighborhoods though. Some of the houses we drove by were very impressive in their colonial grandness. As far as I could tell however, there was no real “going out” area like in larger cities, but scattered throughout the town were several good places to go for a good time.

Also, the weekend we went, the annual Virginia Beer Festival was going on and if you’re a beer drinker, it’s worth visiting Norfolk during that event. For $30 ($25 if you do it online) you’ll get a glass (probably about 8-10 ounces in size) and you can sample 30+ beers around Town Point Park down by the waterfront. Now in my experience with alcohol tasting festivals, you usually have to wait in long lines and usually they hand out a limited number of drink tokens. Not here. Here the longest you ever had to wait in line was at most 5-10 minutes (in which time you can enjoy your previous tasting) and the weather was crazy nice too, so knowing that’s probably the busiest it would ever get, the lines were amazingly short. There is also NO tasting limit, so you could have quite an afternoon trying several different beers and ciders (some of them very powerful). We also didn’t know this because we were first timers, but we saw several hundreds of people wearing homemade pretzel necklaces – a cheap, genius idea in my opinion for a 4-5 hour beer tasting festival and one that I might use in the future.

The beer festival was the main highlight of the weekend, but here are a few of the other places we checked out:

Harbor Park
Norfolk Tides vs. Pawtucket Red Sox

Luckily for me, our trip was timed perfectly to check out my beloved Red Sox’s AAA affiliate take on the local minor league team. Even luckier was that some of the major league Red Sox players were doing their rehab, so I got to see some bigger names on the “smaller” stage. I’ll say though, that I was impressed by the size of the Harbor Park – it was much bigger than I thought it would be, and the fan base was quite into the game (including one very, very obnoxious 10-year old sitting behind us with his father/older brother/uncle in his camouflage hat and cut off beer shirt). We were also treated with a relatively impressive fireworks show as well at the end of the game. Tickets were a measly $13 ($11 if you do it online beforehand), so it was a great time for an affordable price.

Cogan’s Pizza
1901 Colonial Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23517

Part pizza joint, part dive bar, this is a great place to go if you’re looking to get some good pizza (the spicy sauce is very good, and hot) and if you’re looking for a joint with a big beer selection. The beer prices are actually very reasonable considering the selections and their “Happy Hour” may as well be “Happy Day” on Tuesday where the price I think is $2.50 for beers from 11 AM to like 8 PM or something ridiculous. The staff there are friendly and mainly, shall we say, alternative. Our first waitress looked like a tattooed roller derby girl from the 40’s and our second waitress was higher than James Franco on 4/20. Combined they may or may not have lost the credit card we were trying to pay with and may or may not have stolen our leftover pizza, but we did get a couple free 90 minute Dogfish Head IPAs, so the mistakes balanced out. Good crowd, good beer, good pizza – sometimes that’s all you really need. Grade: B

Do-Nut-Dinette
1917 Colley Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23517

The best breakfast burrito I’ve ever had

Every city has their local diner and Do-Nut-Dinette is Norfolk’s. It’s everything you’d expect a diner to look like: a not totally kept up trailer, 2 cops sitting at the counter munching on the diner’s homemade donuts and coffee, and a random group of people sitting at the picnic tables outside (hipsters, an African American family, a couple that looked like they got lost looking for a Gossip Girl party, and three hungover dudes – which was us). Service is slow if you get a seat outside, so keep that in mind. Not much to say about menu except this – get the breakfast burrito. It was hands down the BEST breakfast burrito I’ve ever had. I don’t know what it was, but the tortilla was perfectly grilled and the fillings were the exact portion of cheesy egg, peppers, tomatoes, and crispy bacon (other meat options available) to my liking. Grade: B-, Breakfast Burrito: A

Doumar’s
1919 Monticello Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23517

Before we came down to Norfolk, I had heard a lot about this Doumar’s joint being one of the signature places in Norfolk. So obviously I wanted to check it out. Located a few minutes away from Harbor Park, this place is definitely the type of restaurant that Sonic has based their chain of off. As we pulled up, we decided to try getting a seat inside as we thought at the time we’d be meeting some others there. It was chaos inside, with the waitresses running back and forth between the counter/kitchen and out to the cars where there were dozens of people eating their food. We grabbed a table and waited for a waitress. And then we waited some more. And then some more. We probably sat there for a good 15 minutes, when our friend finally said “We should just eat out in the car”.

So we left the restaurant, got in our car, pulled up to one of the kiosks and Voila! A waitress came up to us within 30 seconds and took our order. So here’s the tip: Eat in your car. That’s their thing, so just go with it. The menu consists of mainly American fare and such, but the prices are very low. My pulled pork sandwich was like $2.30, fries $1.50, and milkshake was around $3.00. Now, the size of the food does match the price relatively, but it was still a pretty damn solid meal for around $6. Solid – but not spectacular, and sadly did not in my opinion so much meet the hype. If you get a milkshake, be sure to order it as a “Reggie” which means they’ll put pieces of ice cream cone in it, which was awesome. The milkshake itself though was a little icy for my taste. It lacked the creaminess that I hoped it would have. But chowing down on a meal in your car at an authentic drive-in is an experience worth trying. Grade: B –

We went to three other places as well. I was quite inebriated at this point, so my reviews of the following are short and sweet. All three are next to each other, and all three are relatively in the middle of nowhere FYI.

The Birch Bar – A small, darkly lit garage turned into a craft beer place. Good special beers if you’re looking to try something different, but pricey. I would not recommend the sour beer. I knew it was a sour beer when I ordered it, but I decided to try it anyways and it was a mistake.

Tortilla West – Very good nachos, but watch out for the jalapeno peppers. They are ridiculously hot.

Cruzer’s – I’m still not totally sure how, or what this place is. There are no windows on the industrial building that its in and the only sign that there’s life inside is one of those neon “Open” signs you see at a shady restaurant. All I know is they’ve got cheap ass beer, it’s run by a few Filipino women, they’ve got karaoke and if you score 100 on karaoke, the big, black bouncer, who’s randomly has the best voice in the place and randomly sings along sometimes, will give you a boxer’s championship belt to take a picture with. Yes – it was that kind of night.

May 21, 2012May 21, 2012

My season of traveling Part Deux – Austin, TX

When one thinks of Texas, the first thoughts are probably of cowboys and cattle. However, the capital of Texas has neither the feel nor the look of what one would think of when they imagine a Texas town. Austin is both youthful and vibrant, with a strong presence of music and believe it or not, counter-culture. Centered at the city is the main campus of University of Texas and that student body spills into the rest of the city.

With several bars and live music venues on 4th, 5th, and 6th streets downtown, there’s a scene for everyone. For the college students looking to get sloppy, go to East 6th Street (it’s the called the Dirty 6 for a reason, trust me. Think Bourbon Street style messiness at night). For the older crowd, head to

4th street for a little more sophisticated scene. For the hippies in the crowd, head across the Congress Ave bridge (where you can witness the Congress Avenue Bridge Bats 364 evenings a year at sunset. We must’ve been there that 365th day they decide not to come out) to the South Congress area to check out the alternative stores, venues, and for me get a really refreshing snow cone at one of the several food trucks.

Also, The Texas History Museum, Texas Capitol Building and Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library are all easy to get to and each worth visiting for a few hours a piece. And let’s not forget the BBQ and Tex-Mex, both of which can be had at plenty of places in the city. Here are a few of the food/bar highlights below.

This doesn’t include the several bars we walked into for one drink and moved on. The bar hopping is SO easy to do in downtown Austin. If you don’t like one place because of the music or whatever, just move onto then next. Or the bar you’re in might just turn into the one you want to go to. For one example: Bat Bar earlier in the night was quiet, dark and probably had 20 people in there and there was a solo guitarist with a cellist singing Radiohead covers. We left, tried a few other places, and on the walk back about 3 or 4 hours later. The place had a line 30 people long, you couldn’t see inside anymore because of the dance party, fog machine pouring smoke out the door and windows with laser lights flying all over the place, there was go-go dancer at the window getting dollars thrown at her feet, and a 300 lb. black dude DJ-ing some serious techno beats. It was like night and day.

On to the other highlights:

Salt Lick BBQ

Not technically in Austin, in order to get some of this really, really good BBQ you’re going to have to drive out about half an hour into what you would picture Texas to stereotypically look like – lots of sand, flat and space (if you’ve ever watched Friday Night Lights, its pretty much what Dillon, TX looks like on TV). But the trip will be worth it if you make it to one of the Salt Lick locations. This place is no-nonsense BBQ eating and you can smell the aroma the second you park your car. The seating area is just one big banquet hall with picnic style tables. The plates are like the hard-plastic, weird pastel colored, tri-indented ones you get at summer camp. And the meat (oh man, so good) comes out in one big pile if you and your party each get the “All-you-can-eat” for $20 – which we did…and one of the three of us almost didn’t make it out of there because he ate so much. The food was excellent, all the meats were savory, juicy and everything you’d expect from real southern BBQ. It’s really not worth wasting any of your stomach space on the bread or the sides and the place is BYOB so don’t hesitate to bring your own beers if you want. Make sure to check out the pit where the pounds and pounds of pork, brisket, and chicken are slowly cooking away. If you do encounter a wait, they have a nice little winery next door where you do a wine tasting of some of their wines for $5 and a Bocce ball court with balls out back (Driftwood was location where we were at so I’m not sure about the other locations). Food Grade: B+, Experience Grade: A-

Cedar Street Courtyard
208 West Fourth Street
Austin, TX 78701
Cover charge – varies

Great venue for live music. The bar is essentially split into two identical halves with a spacious courtyard in the middle to watch the live music. If the band Suede happens to be playing when you’re there, you’re in luck because these guys do a pretty good job of rockin’ the house. Don’t let the fact that the 6 of them look like their in their mid-40’s. They’ll play everything from classic Jimmy Buffett and Boston, to crowd-pleasing Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams and Journey, to current songs from Adele, Pink, and Katy Perry, hard rocking songs from Guns and Roses and Aerosmith, to the just plain weird – Insane Clown Posse (yes, they sung a rendition of the Insane Clown Posse) all in one night. Literally. It was like someone’s Ipod on shuffle, but sung by 40 year-old dudes – and it was awesome.

Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar
421 East 6th Street
Austin, TX 78701
Cover charge – varies

I love a good piano bar, and this place didn’t disappoint. Loud and raucous, lead by the highly entertaining pianists, this place offers crowd pleasing music along with great showmanship. A great place for a larger group, the pianists take offers to play certain songs and the tips can go as high as $100 to hear someone’s favorite tune (I was pretty shocked that these guys probably rake in on average about $30 every five minutes). Throw in a few raunchy happy birthdays and bachelorette/bachelor parties, the place can get wild. One of the most clever ways the pianists make their tips is to start getting the college marching songs competing against one another (I believe by the end of the night the Florida State alums had outbid the Michigan and Texas A&M alums $90 to $60/$60).

Iron Cactus Mexican Grill & Margherita Bar
606 Trinity St.
Austin, Tx 78701

Solid, but not spectacular mexican food, this place really isn’t much different than any of the really good Tex-Mex places around the country. But if there is a reason to go, it’s for the 2nd floor balcony overlooking 6th street. Grab yourself a seat out there, order yourself a nice, cold margarita and enjoy the people watching (We saw Darth Vader and Boba Fett harassing a bachlorette party). Grade: B-

Halcyon Coffee House Bar & Lounge
218 West 4th Street
Austin, TX 78701

If you’re looking for a place to unwind, Halcyon fits the bill. Located around West 4th Street’s bar scene, this little place is a cross between a bar, cafe, and dive-y art spot. With a decent food menu (including a pretty awesome s’mores with fire, sticks and everything offering) and a full service bar, those who want a place to just chill out with a cup of java for a little bit can find that here.

Cooking up some s’mores with coffee and beers

Iron Works Barbecue
100 Red River Street
Austin, TX 78701

Compared to the Salt Lick, this place isn’t really as good (or Stubb’s down the street for that matter, which I’ve also had in the past). However, the food is decent enough and the rustic interior venue cool and located conveniently enough that I’d say it’s worth trying only if you’re in that area of Austin, but don’t go out of your way for it. Grade: C+

Hula Hut
3825 Lake Austin Boulevard
Austin, TX 78703

Located a short drive away from downtown Austin, Hula Hut provides a pretty decent location to enjoy some Tex-Mex by the waters of Lake Austin while sipping on some cold libations. Nothing overly amazing, much like the Iron Cactus, the Hula Hut’s scene is definitely for the folks who want to sit on their makeshift dock bars and get drunk watching the boats come in and out (but mainly to get drunk. And probably sunburn). I will say that the fish tacos that I had were actually very good, so give those a try if you head out that way, but since we were there to meet up with a local friend, I have a hard time seeing why you would be out that far. Grade: B (but not worth specifically driving out to unless you’re planning on boating or meeting a local who lives around there)

May 16, 2012July 7, 2012

My season of traveling Part I – San Diego, CA, Rochester, NY and Chattanooga, TN

Hello friends and people, I’m back. Sorry I’ve been off the grid for a while, it’s been a busy season at work and things have just started to wind down. Of course my sales season wouldn’t have been complete without a little work travel and I’m here to give you a quick recap of where I’ve been over the past few months. I won’t get too detailed because in all honesty many of the work trips required a lot of actual working so there’s not a whole lot to write about when you’re spending most of your time at Hampton Inns. But I can give you a few highlights.

San Diego, CA
U.S.S. Midway Museum
Price of Admission: $18 Adults, $15 Senior Citizens, $10 Retired Military and Children (online rates are a dollar cheaper)

San Diego, CA probably gets the prize for best weather all year long in the U.S. When I was there in January, it was a nice and warm low-80 degrees with clear skies – and from what I understand it’s always like that. Most of my time in CA was spent at a conference so I didn’t get to the beach, but we were in the Gaslight District which is a vibrant bar and nightlife scene. Aside, from all the great bars and restaurants one can try out in San Diego (several of which my company treated us to), it’s worth a walk down to the shore and going on board the U.S.S. Midway. Yes, I’ve mentioned the ship before, but I think it’s worth getting more in-depth. It’s much more than just a walk around the deck and seeing a few of the planes. The museum gives you a look inside all the intricate parts of the aircraft carrier and gives you not just a lesson about the ship’s role in U.S. Navy history, but a real sense of what it was like for the common sailor on-board (you can walk through the bunks, laundry room, mess hall, everywhere). Don’t miss a chance to also sit in several of the fighters jets and helicopters that they have on display or participate in a flight simulator dogfight with your friends. If you have time, go and chat with one of the several veterans on board who volunteer to tell you their stories – they’re fascinating and many of them are pretty funny guys.

Rochester, NY
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

When I asked around about places to go to eat while in Rochester, NY, I heard from three separate people to check out Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. Now, admittedly I thought the place was some local hot spot (with a really random name), but when I showed up I realized that it was a chain. So while I was a little disappointed, it’s not a huge chain mind you (the other locations are in New York City, Syracuse, New Jersey, and Troy, NY). Still, I had no other leads of places to try so I gave it a go. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised. The atmosphere had a Applebee’s made over by a biker gang, but the crowd was a mix of all types. The beer list was impressive, with several local northern NY brews. The food and service was top notch as well. My waitress was friendly, fast, and knew to be available but not be overbearing. I gave the “Tres Hombres” combination a try and that consisted of pork, brisket and 1/4 rack of ribs, cornbread and two sides – I went with mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. There was a LOT of food – but it was well worth the calories (you can try the smaller “Tres Ninos” combo if you’re not as hungry). The different BBQ sauces that were on the table really hit the spot, but my two favorites were there Slathering Sauce and the Wango Tango Habenero (this stuff was sweet and super spicy). The meats all melted in your mouth, but I’ll say that the ribs were probably the best of the three. The mac and cheese was also a stand out and I would tell anyone that one of the sides must be that (though one could argue that the gravy that came with the potatoes made that side dish better). I could certainly see how this place, with his comfort food and warm, friendly atmosphere is popular spot on cold winter days in Rochester. Grade: B

Chattanooga, TN
Ruby Falls
Price of Admission: $17.95 for adults, $9.95 for children under 12 (babies free, but I probably wouldn’t bring a baby)

On my flight into Chattanooga, TN, I sat next to a local lawyer who gave me some leads on how to spend a few free hours in the city. He, like most of the people that I met from Chattanooga, had a sort of “really, this place is much nicer that you might think” way of talking. I’ll say this much – I probably wouldn’t target Chattanooga as a place to go out of my way to visit. BUT I will also say that it is a quaint little town with some pretty interesting things to see if you’re there for a couple days. And from what I understand and saw for myself, it’s a great place for the outdoorsy types. I didn’t try it myself, but apparently hang gliding is one of the big hobbies for the folks in Chattanooga. But don’t bother with going to the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, unless you happen to be down that way. But if you do happen to be down that way and see the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, stop into The Terminal Brewhouse. They had some great drafts and one of the better BBQ Chicken pizzas I’ve ever had.

One of the highlights for me was a side trip to Ruby Falls. It’s clearly one of the main tourist attractions (the other being Rock City) and the city lets you know it with the 247 or something billboards I saw on the highways directing visitors to see check it out (that was an exaggeration, but it was a s**tload). The drive to Ruby Falls is quick from downtown Chattanooga and when I arrived, I had no idea that Ruby Falls wasn’t really outdoors! Apparently, the waterfall that’s advertised is actually the country’s tallest underground waterfall. Now I’m not claustrophobic, but for you folks that are keep this in mind. To see the Ruby Falls, you have to take an elevator ride 1120 feet underground into a very tight, winding cave. If you’re okay with that, then you’re good to go. So a group of us took the elevator down to the dark cavern and in order to get to the waterfall, the guide takes you through some really neat tunnels with extraordinary rock formations. Our guide, Andy, gave us a little history and while his smart-ass humor was annoying at first, after a while it became more tolerable and by the end you couldn’t help but be amused by his personality. When we got to the cave with the waterfall, it’s pitch black and pretty creepy. There’s a little dramatic audio presentation to get you pumped up, and then the lights come on and Voila! I’ll say, I was pretty awe-struck by the waterfall when I saw it. They did a really good job with the lighting and making the water look like falling crystals. It was quite…majestic (for some reason I really can’t think of a better word that isn’t as cheesy). As you walk around and underneath the waterfall itself, you have to take a look up at the water coming down. You’ll get a little wet, but it’s worth the sight. It’s almost like you’re looking at the stars while traveling at warp speed, Star Trek style. So if you’re ever in Chattanooga for any weird reason, give the Ruby Falls a few hours of your time.

Cedar Street Courtyard 208 West Fourth Street Austin, TX 78701 Cover charge – varies

Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar 421 East 6th Street Austin, TX 78701 Cover charge – varies

Iron Cactus Mexican Grill & Margherita Bar 606 Trinity St. Austin, Tx 78701

Halcyon Coffee House Bar & Lounge 218 West 4th Street Austin, TX 78701

Iron Works Barbecue 100 Red River Street Austin, TX 78701

Hula Hut 3825 Lake Austin Boulevard Austin, TX 78703