Viewing by month: March 2009
Art Nouveau elegance in Buenos Aires's Café Tortoni.
Most European capitals have a gorgeous fin-de-siecle coffee house. In Budapest, it's Gerbeaud. In Naples, it's Gambrinus. In Vienna, it's Café Demel.
Buenos Aires, whose mid-19th century movers and shakers were enamored of all things European, followed suit and opened their own sophisticated café. It has the requisite intricately carved woodwork, delectable pastries, and swirling, stained-glass panels. But it also has a smoldering, sexy something you won't find in a European café - tango.
Photo: Flickr bunnicula
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Neide's Salsa and Samba - Brazilian and Mexican food in Hanalei
In order to figure out where to eat on vacation, we spend hours poring over guidebooks, web sites, and magazines, as well as interrogating friends and family. So when we headed to Kauai in February, we had a short list for every part of the island.
Since Ahi tuna, in one form or another, seems to be on every Kauai menu, we wanted some alternatives. And Neide's Salsa and Samba, in the cute little town of Hanalei, sounded appealing.
Our GPS got us as far as the parking lot of the Old Hanalei School. From there, we had to set out on foot. Neide's is in the building that's adjacent to the old schoolhouse, tucked around the back. Their colorful outdoor seating comes with a cool breeze, a backdrop of tropical gardens, and mountain and waterfall views.
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America's best small museums - Part 4
In many cities, The Frick Collection would be a major attraction. But when you compete with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art, second tier is pretty good.
Where the Met and MOMA are grand and imposing, the Frick is more like your uncle's place, if your uncle were a fabulously wealthy coal baron and art collector with impeccable taste. Thomas Hastings designed the building at 10 East 70th Street in New York in 1913. The 16 galleries contain Old Masters, paintings by Fragonard, Titian, El Greco, and Bellini, as well as works by Constable, Corot, Vermeer, Velazquez, and Whistler.
Photo: Flickr mera136
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