Appropriately, I had my very first Chicago-Style Hot Dog in the Windy City. I had met up with my roommates from college for a fun girly weekend there and on our last day, we decided to try something typical of the city: the hot dog. We headed to Gold Coast Dogs and I have loved Chicago-style hot dogs ever since. I think one of the reasons I like it so much compared to other dogs is that it is loaded with veggies. A typical one includes a steemed kosher-syle all-beef frankfurter on a poppy seed bun topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, sweet pickle relish, a pickle spear, tomato wedges and pickles sport peppers with a dash of celery salt, earning it the nickname of hot dog that ...
Travel
Fall 2010 White House Garden Tour
Working a few blocks away from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, I often take the sight of the White House for granted. It is nonetheless, one of the world's most famous buildings and is visited each years by hundreds of thousands of Americans. On occasions they even let foreigners in and a few years back, I not only got to go on the regular East Wing tour I also had the opportunity to visit the West Wing and see the Oval Office. Now that was pretty cool but until today I still had some unfinished business with the White House. I had never actually been in the White House garden. Tours of the garden are organized for the general public twice a year and I was so confident I would be able to go on ...
Postcard from France: Metz-merized by Pompidou-Metz!
Like many Parisians, I suffer from a bit of a superiority complex. Growing up in the most beautiful city in the world, I sometime forget that there is more to France than its capital. What we Parisians typically lump together as "la Province" (ie. everywhere outside of Paris) is actually comprised of 21 independent regions, each with its own history, traditions, gastronomy and tourist attractions. Lorraine, in the North East of France, is one of these regions. Until recently it was mainly ignored by pretty much everyone but die-hard quiche lovers. Today, however, even the snobbiest Parisians are planning weekend or day trips to the capital city of Lorraine: Metz And yes, that includes ...
Road Tripping: Naked Mountain Vineyard
It's easy to get people to flock to your vineyard when your slogan is "Drink Naked"! This small Virginia winery says it sells almost more t-shirt with their motto than they do wine. Nonetheless, Naked Mountain Vineyards and Winery is a lovely mom-and-pop kind of shop, with delightful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a small but charming tasting room and an inviting wrap around deck where you can soak up the sun, while overlooking the vines and sipping a glass of chardonnay. The winery only produces a few different kind of wines, so sampling all of them wasn't too hard. I personally preferred the 2008 Cabernet Franc Rosé but my friends walked away with a few bottles of Raptor Red. Naked ...