'sNice and Funny

by Erik Olsen on

I’d
like to put a shout out to ‘sNice, my favorite cafe in the Village today, and
rally any New York gadling readers to check out the ‘sNice and Funny comedy and music show happening on Sunday, May 21.

Mike, who runs the cafe at 8th Ave and W. 4th is bringing in a legion of funny and creative folks like Dan
Allen and Danny Cohen to entertain and raise some cashola for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. The event costs $8 in
advance and $10 at the door, but will be worth it.  If you’re around, drop in, buy a cup of coffee, and check it
out.

Little Havana

by Neil Woodburn on

There is a short little article in this month’s Southern Living that highlights the very best of what
Miami’s Calle Ocho has to offer. 

Calle Ocho, or Eighth Street for those of you Hispanically-impaired, is Miami’s colorful Little Havana
neighborhood.  With the Bush Administration cracking down on travel to Cuba these days, Miami
might be the only opportunity you’ll have to experience authentic Cuban culture before Castro kicks the
bucket.

The article, by Les Thomas, bullet-points the numero uno art gallery, gift shop, cigar-maker, breakfast
joint and restaurant to visit when limited to less than 24 hours in this vibrant neighborhood.  Go now before Bush
restricts travel within Miami itself. 

GADLING'S TAKE FIVE: Week of April 22

by Adrienne Wilson on

Your attention please! I said your attention
please! Since it’s the end of the week it is now time for me to present to you five fine posts you may have missed over
the last few days. Just make sure you never miss them again. (Smile.)

5. Casanova’s Pizzeria – Oakford, PA
As
you may have noticed I haven’t been blogging as much as usual, but it’s for good reason and cause. For starters I was
out sampling the town in Oakford, PA earlier this week to bring you dispatches on what the natives are eating. If you
ever find yourself in the area make sure you check out Casanova’s Kitchen and be sure to order the
"scrapple."

4. America’s Best Campsites
Although camping
may not be Karen’s activity of choice, she points those ready to soak up all that nature has to offer to a fine piece
out of Sunset Magazine on America’s Best Campsites. Grab you sleeping bag, tent, and other camping gear and head on
over to Karen’s blurb.

3. Buenos Aires: Newest Expat Oasis
For
those of us looking to jump ship when things in America have gone completely haywire why not head south to South
America? Better yet, make it Buenos Aires where it is said to be the latest and newest expat oasis. Neil does a
fantastic job offering his insight on other expat locales like Prague in addition to providing his forecast on the
scene Buenos Aires.

2. Tipping Tips
Thanks to Erik I know not to ever leave a tip in Japan, where the pocket change can often be considered an insult.
Whew! But what about tipping here in the U.S.? What is the norm these days? If you’ve ever been a little unsure on how
much you should leave after having your fine meal and glass of wine click here to get all the guidance you’ll need.

1. More on Ugly Americans
It disheartens
me to go abroad and find my fellow countrymen acting a snobbish fool. Had they no clue what the outside world was like?
Did they not know everything that goes down in America doesn’t necessarily go down overseas? I’m sure you’ve come
across an ugly American at one point or another or maybe you are an ugly American. Sigh. Again, Erik does wonderfully
in getting a debate started or the World
Citizens Guide and whether or not we are as bad and as ugly as they really think we are.

Longest Australia Lunch

by Erik Olsen on

It
looks we’re already about halfway into the thing, but I just caught this post over at
sister site Slashfood about the G’Day New Zealand weeklong festival happening down under (wait, is New Zealand
considered down under?)…anyway, there is still time for you to have some Aussie fun as part of the event because the
world’s longest
Australian lunch takes place on Friday.  Apparently its popular because tickets are selling like shrimps on
the barbie (sorry, had to sneak one hackneyed Australian reference in there) with over 400 people expected to
participate.

What’s being served? Glad you asked. "Sizzling" BBQ platters with Aussie king prawns
and croc meat, but also ample servings of beer and Lindeman’s wine (what, no Yellow Tail?) Anyway, seems like a cool
event.

Chewing Qat in Yemen

by Erik Olsen on

A fascinating little video over at National Geographic.com takes
a look at the city of Muscat, Oman, where writer Bernice Notenboom and photographer Martin Hartleyo head out to
explore some of the ancient and extremely remote nooks of Yemen. Takes a while to load, but it’s worth it, we learn
about chewing Qat, a brush cultivated everywhere and that is masticated
a bit like chewing tobacco…but apparently the buzz isn’t that great. Still people are absolutely addicted to it. They
show one guy who is, I’m not making this up, a professional qat eater. Notenboom seems to really like the stuff and
gets a little rush from it. Something tells me that the marketing folks at Starbucks are making trips to Yemen as we
speak. You’ll be able to pick up an elegant little box of the stuff by the register, and they’ll call it something
fancy like Qat-izzi.