Bärenjäger Honey Liqueur is holding its first-ever bartender competition this year on September 15. Haven’t heard of Bärenjäger? That’s okay, I hadn’t either.
It’s a 35 percent alcohol liqueur which was originally developed by medieval woodland warriors to aid them in the catching and killing of bears. I’m serious. They called it “meschkinnes.” And Bärenjäger means “Bear Hunter.” It’s now made in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula (“where the sticky substance is especially aromatic”) and imported by Sidney Frank (Jägermeister, Tommy Bahama Rum).
So. How will this get you to Oktoberfest? Well, if you’re a NY resident, be available for the competition September 15 — but first sign up by August 25 on their website, where all the rules and regulations are available. If you’re not a bartender, but happen to be in NY? That’s cool, it’s open to all NY residents, 21 and over.
If you’re not a NY resident, send this article to your mixologist friends who are — the trip is all expense paid for two.
If you’re looking for travel deals, try a state fair. If any state fair is like Ohio’s, it’s looking for ways to entice people to come by offering discounts and deals, particularly on food.
According to this Toledo Blade article, the “staycation” folks are the ones the Ohio State Fair is courting. As a result, this particular fair is a coupon clipper’s dream. Many coupons found on the fair’s Website offer free drinks with some sort of sandwich purchase; some are money-off deals.
At first glance, the best deal is at the Donahey Agriculture and Hort Building. The coupon touts that kids under 12 get a free Bob Evans kid’s meal for climbing the Corn Wall.
There’s a catch, though: after calling the state fair to verify what I suspected, I found out that you have to go to a Bob Evans restaurant to get your child that meal. Regardless, climbing the Corn Wall would be fun even without the extra reward.
Don’t miss out on the coupons for the Taste of Ohio Café. I can personally vouch for the food. That’s where we ate last year. The point of this building is to highlight Ohio’s food abundance. Each stand is run by a different Ohio food producing association. The Ohio Poultry Association, for example, sells the Thanksgiving dinner that has a has a coupon for $1 off. There’s no catch here.
The coupon sheet serves another purpose, as well: Use it as a fair guide. As you eat and drink your way through the day, you’ll learn a bit more about Ohio. As a note, some coupons are for food items you can eat later. Jose Madrid salsa is one such item. This salsa brand is made in Ohio, and it’s terrific. I’m partial to the hotter versions.
Deep fried pickles, unfortunately, aren’t included. I love deep fried dill pickles, a food I never heard of or ate before moving to Ohio. I don’t know about the deep friend pickles at the fair, but the ones at Old Bag of Nails Pub in Worthington are yummy.
The fair started in Columbus on Wednesday and will go through Tuesday, August 9.
Reading Concierge.com’s article on the world’s 13 best beach foods right before lunch is one way to heighten the sense of wanting to eat–and now!
When I read about the grilled fish on a beach in Vietnam, I had to stifle a whimper. Oh, how I loved that grilled fish I had on the beach in Vietnam. In Nha Trang, my husband and I hired two women to cook us a private dinner. Concierge.com suggests a grilled fish meal at the Palm Restaurant on Phu Quoc island. Fish in Vietnam is superb. At least all the fish I’ve eaten there.
Another suggestion that has me salivating is steamed lobster in Maine. Oh, how that would be so perfect for lunch. Waterman’s Beach Lobster in South Thomaston is Concierge.com’s pick. I’ve been to Thomaston. It’s a lovely place with or without the lobster, but why not with?
Since I’ll be in Mykonos in August, the mezes description caught my attention as well. The place to get this assortment of appetizer, snack-like dishes is Kiki’s (in photo).
The article presents other beach foods that range from fish tacos to paella to grilled octopus. What I like about the suggestions are that they aren’t snooty foods, but are an accessible price to most travelers because they are regional. Regional food also adds to the assurance of quality. I have to go eat lunch now. I’m starving.
It’s been a few years since I’ve had a nice long layover in downtown Chicago, so I’d forgotten what a truly wonderful city it is. You see, whenever I’m visiting the Windy City my crew and I usually get stuck at an airport hotel, if we even leave the airport at all. So when I got an invitation to speak at the travel blog exchange conference, I decided to make it a long weekend. I also decided to bring my mother along.
Our flight from New York departed to Chicago on Friday. Saturday we spent the entire day wandering around and exploring the city. More about that later. Because on Sunday, I, yours truly, actually sat on a panel with some of the most powerful travel bloggers around. In fact, I took a seat right between Sean Keener (co-founder of Bootsnall) and Nomadic Matt. And on the other side of Matt sat Michael Yessis (co-founder and co-editor of WorldHum). Honestly, I’m not even sure what I was doing there, but I was very excited about it and I do hope someone photographed it. Because we were there to discuss how to keep a blog lively, I won’t bore you with the details of “lively” blogging, but I will share a few of the questions and answers I think you might find interesting.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE STORY ON YOUR BLOG AND WHY: I couldn’t narrow it down to just one post, so I shared my three favorite posts…
THAT DAY – 9/11: This is the most serious post I’ve written to date. The best part was AOL featured it on 9/11 last year and it inspired millions of people to share their own stories of that tragic day, a day that not only took so many lives, but also completely changed the way we travel today. Some stories were so emotional they made me cry. Powerful stuff.
FLIGHT ATTENDANT PET PEEVE #1: ANSWER PLEASE – This is my very first Gadling post. Over 700 people responded and the majority of those comments were not nice…not at all! In fact, it felt like 700 drive by shootings. I learned very quickly I needed a tough skin in order to write about what I do for a living, and to shake things off, and not take the comments personally. That was a huge lesson. I now work hard to show that flight attendants are nice, good people, who are also smart and interesting. Because we are!
THE HOTTEST TREND ON THE AIRPLANE SINCE THE MILE HIGH CLUB: The laviator post is one of my favorites not just because it was featured on MSNBC and National Geographic, but because so many people responded and joined in the fun. I never expected that! I love including my readers, whether it be by having contests, sharing letters, stories, photographs, whatever, so if you’ve got something to share, let me know!
WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO PROVIDE FOR YOUR READERS: An escape from day to day life. At least that’s what I hope to provide for readers who are unable to travel as often as they’d like. For those who do travel regularly, a chance to see what’s going on behind the galley curtain. Because aviation enthusiasts really are curious. I also enjoy educating my readers by allowing them to “see” what it’s really like to be a flight attendant and letting them know why we do the things they do, because honestly, we really aren’t on a power trip, we’re just enforcing FAA rules, rules that are really quite simple.
HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR BLOG ALIVE WHEN YOU’RE NOT TRAVELING: Thank goodness for readers who inspire posts with their comments and questions.
And now for my quick trip report….
WHERE DID I STAY? Hotel Burnham. We got quite a deal on Hotels.com. For just $129 / night we had an amazing view on the 15th floor in the refurbished, 105 year-old, Reliance Building . Located in the theater district, the pet-friendly, boutique hotel is a short walk from Millennium Park. In the lobby they offer a complimentary wine reception from 5-6 pm. The rooms are plush and tastefully decorated, the beds are comfortable and set against a bay window overlooking the city, and a zebra print bath robe awaits you in the closet. What more could you ask for? A Nordstrom Rack, you say? Right next door.
MY FAVORITE MEAL? Fish and chips at The Gage. They weren’t too crispy or even greasy. They were, however, perfectly flakey. Not only is the food amazing, but the portions are huge. The atmosphere is a mix of cool and contemporary, and while the prices are a tad bit high, it’s totally worth it. Especially if Oliver is your server.
MY FAVORITE THING TO DO? Walk around Millennium Park. I don’t know what I loved more, the Opera singers practicing at Jay Pritzker Pavilion in the middle of the afternoon, the gorgeous gardens at every turn, the kids splashing around in Crown Fountain, or the family fun festival we were lucky enough to run into, all while just wandering around.
English food is no longer mushy peas and baked beans on toast. Cities like London have become culinary capitals thanks to large numbers of immigrants saving the English from themselves. Indian, Chinese, Thai, Moroccan, Ethiopian, and many other types of restaurants offer every kind of dish imaginable. There’s only one problem–eating out in England is bloody expensive!
Now there may be a solution, for London at least. A service called EPok offers two-for-one meal deals at selected London restaurants. EPok, which rather tortuously stands for “Eating Places OK”, offers a special London Pack waiting for you at your hotel with vouchers for twenty or more restaurants offering two-for-one deals, plus another two-for-one deal for theatre tickets. At only 27 pounds, this could add up to some serious savings.
There are a few limitations, though. Drinks and service aren’t included, and they pick the show and restaurants.
Despite these limitations this sounds like it could be a pretty good deal, but if you haven’t been around London much here’s a word of warning. The city is filled with people who have more money than taste and who will fork over piles of cash for any old tripe given an exotic name and presented well. Check out your restaurant with a good website like TimeOut London before going. EPok has started its own review page too.
I’d love to hear from anyone who has used this service. It could be good if you don’t know the city well and are just passing through.