Sydney’s Darlinghurst neighborhood: charm, croissants, and cocktails

by Laurel Miller on

In a city chock-full of charming, Sydney’s Darlinghurst neighborhood is a tough contender. Not that it’s an easy choice. If it’s parks, quirky boutiques and specialty food shops, cafes, cheap ethnic or fine dining restaurants, bars, lattice-bedecked row houses, cliff-top beach paths, or Harbour views you want, there’s no shortage of neighborhoods that deliver.

Me, I’ll take Darlinghurst. This semi-residential Eastern neighborhood is wedged between the backpacker ghetto of King’s Cross, and the more sedate Potts Point and Surry Hills. What I love about Darlinghurst is that it’s possible to feel like a local if you make it your home base; something that’s not easy in tourist-thronged Sydney.

One of my favorite pastimes is looking at houses, and Darlinghurst has plenty of eye candy in the form of narrow, winding streets, sweet little row houses, and pockets of greenery. But the neighborhood is also a cornerstone for Sydney’s exploding “small bars” scene. Turn around, and whack! Another stylish spot to imbibe (and snack) has opened its doors.

Sydney also doesn’t want for coastal walking paths, and Darlinghurst is just a short stroll from the lovely Opera House to Royal Botanic Gardens Walk. Within minutes of checking in to my hotel, I was headed out for a run along the Harbour. It’s hard not to feel like the luckiest person alive when you have that kind of view for inspiration.

Sleeping
While Darlinghurst has a handful of accommodation options (depending upon budget, most visitors choose the janky hostels of King’s Cross, or opt for the diverse–and more costly–options in the nearby CBD).

%Gallery-124555%My pick is the groovy Kirketon Hotel, a member of Australia’s boutique Eight Hotels collection. Located on a leafy portion of Darlinghurst Road, it’s just steps away from bustling Victoria Street. After a full remodel in ’08, the 40-room Kirketon is now a swank goth/art deco/mod-hybrid. I love it, mirrored hallways, dim lighting, chandeliers, smokey color scheme, black facade, and all. It’s slick, sexy without trying too hard, and the bright, well-designed rooms are kitted out with comfy beds and modern amenities.

Despite the trendy vibe, the Kirketon is peaceful and not at all pretentious, thanks in part to the genuinely friendly, helpful staff. Come night, however, this hotel is hopping because of its award-winning bar, Eau de Vie (more on that, below).

Eating
Darlinghurst has lots of dining options, but for me, it’s all about breakfast. Right across from the Kirketon is La Petit Creme, a funky French coffee house serving delicious crepes, pain chocolat and other breakfast treats, and bowls of cafe au lait.

Arguably one of Sydney’s most beloved breakfast spots (equally wonderful for lunch) is Bill’s, owned by acclaimed chef Bill Granger. Granger is one of a handful of Aussie chefs who helped put “Mod Oz” cuisine on the map. Expect bright, seasonal fare inflected with Mediterranean and Asian flavors. It’s a total travel article cliche, but the ricotta hotcakes with bananas and honeycomb butter, sweet corn fritters, or toasted grain cereal with vanilla-poached fruit, yogurt, and honey really are the best way to start a day of sight-seeing.

My new breakfast (lunch/snack/drunken late-night munchies) obsession, however, is Infinity Sourdough Bakery, located around the corner from the Kirketon. I’m totally convinced that anything that emerges from the ovens at this adorable takeaway will be amazing. Four visits in a single day did nothing to disprove this theory (not counting other carbo-loading sessions). The almond croissants are life-changing, but the pizzettas, ham and cheese turnovers, bread, and other pastries are also excellent.

…and Drinking
Wherever you lay your head, be sure to stop by Eau de Vie, 2010’s Australian Bar Awards Bar of the Year. It’s a living room-like spot on the Kirketon’s ground floor, with a moody, Prohibition-era vibe (I’m of the “it can’t be a speakeasy if it legally sells cocktails” school of thought, because I’m a pain in the ass like that.)

Eau de Vie specializes in seasonally-changing, contemporized classic cocktails that, if a bit precious and theatrical, are crafted with the utmost precision. If you’re interested, one of the friendly mixologists–all of whom possess encyclopedic knowledge–will tell you everything you might care to know about your drink. Said drinks don’t come cheap, although there are plenty in the $16USD range. The $32USD syrupy smooth Old Fashioned made for me by “Dr. Phil,” however, was without a doubt the best I will have in this lifetime. Why so spendy? Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 (as in years-old) rum, housemade bitters, a puck of ice compressed to order in a copper Tyson ice mold, and open flame were involved.

In the small bar category, Darlinghurst boasts some of Sydney’s favorite newbies (all of the following serve bar snacky food/small plates). At The Passage, expect refreshing libations such as the Professor Plum (plums macerated in Queirolo plum pisco, shaken with lemon juice and Madagascan vanilla syrup), or a Coconut and Kaffir Lime Daquiri, served up with a garnish of pandan leaf.

Lotforty, a miniscule candlelit tapas bar, offers up jugs of sangria ($20AUD), as well as cocktails, and fried, grilled, and crispy treats such as “bbq” King Prawns with orange, fennel, and mint salad. At wine bar Love, Tilly Devine (named after an infamous neighborhood Madame of the 1930’s), the extensive list of international offerings is meticulously chosen and categorized. Sip with slow-roasted octopus with new potatoes and aioli, Macleay River rock oysters, or Burrawong duck liver pate with sweet and sour onions.

Technically, Sticky Bar is in Surry Hills (known for its eclectic shops and ethnic restaurants), just a short walk from the heart of Darlinghurst. Sticky is such a funky, sexy, odd little space I can’t help but include it. It’s a bitch to find (especially after a few drinks), as you need to enter through sister restaurant Table for 20, and climb a narrow flight of stairs to enter the bar. The decor is decrepit-Victorian-mansion-meets-Old-Hollywood: overstuffed vintage velvet chairs, leather ottomans, ornate chandeliers, exposed brick, and shadowy nooks and crannies. Order a glass of domestic wine or a wickedly strong cocktail from the blackboard menu, settle back, and watch the scene (the music’s loud).

Shopping
Darlinghurst isn’t the best place if you’re a bargain hunter (try the vintage clothing stores in uni-district Glebe, instead). But if you have the cash (or are a bit of a masochist), you’ll find no shortage of on-trend boutiques featuring up-and-coming Aussie clothing designers, shoes, high-end vintage, luxe skincare products, book stores and whimsical home decor. Darlinghurst Road, Victoria Street, and Liverpool Street also have a fair number of shops. I like Blue Spinach, a “luxury consignment” store where you can score affordable treasures if you do some digging. Popular boutiques include Diederic the Cat, which offers American and Euro fashions, and Alfie’s friend Rolfe. This self-described “little Aladdin’s Cave of Australian designer labels” is heaven if you’re looking for quality sartorial souvenirs.

Getting There
Qantas flies non-stop to Sydney out of LAX and DFW, with extensive code share connections available from major cities throughout the country through the partnership with American Airlines. Tourism Australia’s website will provide you with all the information you need to plan a holiday.

Click here to watch one of Eau de Vie’s mixologists create a signature cocktail (don’t miss Dr. Phil’s “Whisky Blazer!”)

[Photo credits: cottage and Oxford St., Flickr user iambents]

Las Vegas has a “Cougarlicious” slot machine … no, really.

by McLean Robbins on


We’re not kidding when we say that some casinos will do anything for attention – we spotted this great article on a “Cougarlicious” slot machine found at Las Vegas‘ Mandalay Bay over on VegasChatter and couldn’t resist sharing.

Play to the tune of “Too Sexy” for the keys to motel room number 69 (subtle, hmm?) and a chance to win kisses from Nate the Bait, ostensibly your young hottie du jour.

According to IGT, the game’s manufacturer, “[t]his sassy video slot has fun motel key and lipstick-kissed matchbook symbols that make you feel kinda lucky… this game is just too sexy to pass up. Be on the prowl for Cougarlicious.”

Barf.

Sadly, the game isn’t that new – an article in Gaming Today says it debuted back in 2009 and has been in casinos for nearly a year. Why are we just now being made aware that we can further make fun of middle-aged women doing exactly what men have done for centuries, namely, troll for younger partners?

Also, these women on the ads hardly look old enough to us to be “cougarlicious,” nor does Nate the Bait look particularly young. Madness.

Gadling’s 2011 NYC summit / NoFF happy hour recap

by Stephen Greenwood on

One week ago, the nefarious crew here at Gadling assembled from all parts of the globe to gather in the Big Apple for our annual team summit. Led by Gadling’s steadfast Editor-in-Chief & tequila pusher, Mr. Grant Martin, the team took to the bustling streets of NYC for a weekend of strategizing, socializing, pool sharking, and vital face time.

The highlights of the weekend (from what we can remember) included a travel/tech panel organized & curated by Gadling’s own Jeremy Kressmann; where Drew Patterson (CEO of Jetsetter), Geoff Lewis (CEO of Topguest) and Grant Martin discussed the present and future of social media’s impact on loyalty programs.


On Saturday evening, we had the pleasure of teaming up once again with the boys at the Nomading Film Festival to wrangle some of the top NYC-based talent in the travel industry for our second happy hour of 2011. Hosted at the Lolita Bar in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, we convened over a special pouring

of 17 Year Old Fine Oak & 18 Year Old Sherry Oak Single Malts from the Macallan. A sensible amount of scotch & tequila was consumed, new friends were made, old friends reunited, and when the fine folks at Mastercard & Travelocity started feeling generous, coveted gifts (and gnomes) were raffled.

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We couldn’t have asked for a better group to share the celebrations with; thank you to all that were able to make it. If you missed us this time around, then scroll through the gallery above to see the photos that we were allowed to publish. If you want the uncensored version, you’ll just have to join us next time!

Bonnaroo 2011: why you should go

by Elizabeth Seward on


Bonnaroo 2011 is bound to be fun. I say this with confidence because I packed a car (and a cooler) and pitched my(embarrassingly huge, but purchased as a gift by my mother) tent at Bonnaroo last year. I had scored some V.I.P. passes to the festival last minute and decided, without much hesitation, that it was about time I experienced a camping music festival for myself. As soon as I rolled into the parking/camping lot for the festival, I knew I’d made the right decision.

My fiance and I pulled into the muddy lot and put our borrowed car in park. We pulled out said giant tent and began to piece together the puzzle that putting it together wound up to be. We did this with PBRs in hand and serendipitously, it seemed, everyone around us was doing the same thing: wrestling with tent instructions and alternating stakes with beer-filled aluminum cans. The sun was setting in that neon pink and orange light, the kind of colors that consistently paint the sky on the best summer nights. Our neighbors were also from Brooklyn, and also really really excited to be hanging out beyond the Tri-State borders for a few days.

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We entered the festival last year just in time to catch The Temper Trap’s show. We’d never heard of them before, but just a song into their set we found ourselves asking people around us, “Who are these guys?”, knowing that it didn’t actually matter who they were–the experience of being at this festival was already speaking for itself, above and beyond the name or online merch. store url for any specific band.

We traveled all over in 2010. From New Orleans to Grenada, Costa Rica to the Blue Ridge Parkway, we certainly didn’t stay in one place for very long. And yet when all was said and done, those four days we stayed in that one place, Bonnaroo, will never be forgotten.

Although general admission tickets are now sold out for the upcoming Bonnaroo 2011, V.I.P. tickets are still available. And after having had V.I.P. tickets myself, all I can say is this: you’ll be showered and not walking miles each morning to get into the heart of the festival. The 4-day party takes place in the small town of Manchester, Tennessee and the dates this year are June 9-12.

Not sure if you want to invest in the sonic adventure yet? Well, here are some highlights that just might remedy your uncertainty.

  • Silent Disco. Everyone’s wearing wireless headphones, but dancin’ to the same song. From the outside looking in, everyone’s shakin’ their thang in utter silence. Inside? It’s a party.
  • Planet Earth. Bonnaroo is paving the path for eco-friendly festivals. Local food, composting, free water… the Bonnaroo green initiatives know no limit.
  • Yoga. Imagine hundreds (or thousands depending on how many people can rise and shine in time) doing sun salutes in unison as the Bonnaroo day breaks. It’s truly a sight to behold.
  • Artists’ Market. I was impressed with the wide expanse of legitimate artist booths at Bonnaroo last year. More handmade local goods, less made in China duplicates. That’s the idea and Bonnaroo holds to it. My handmade purse I purchased last year is regularly referred to as the ‘Bonnaroo Bag’ at home.
  • Bonnaroo Cinema & Comedy. If you need a break from all of the music listening, good-food eating, and fine-beer drinking, you can always chill out at Bonnaroo Cinema or Comedy tents to change up the kinds of shows you’re seeing.
  • Good vibes, anyone? Never before have I entered a certain community and felt so immediately welcomed and loved. There was something in the air at Bonnaroo last year, some kind of love and peace cocktail, if you ask me. And this, above everything else, is what will bring me back this year if I can make it.
  • Travel. Few people actually live in Manchester, Tennessee. Because of this, Bonnaroo is a time for travel for most attendees. It’s a time to pack the bags and file into cars, trains, buses, and plains and get there, one way or another. Talk to anyone who has traveled to Bonnaroo and they’ll back me up when I say: Bonnaroo is as much about getting there as anything else.
  • The MUSIC. Last, but of course not least, Bonnaroo is about the music. Some artists highlighting this year’s roster for me: Robert Plant & Band of Joy, Neil Young, Arcade Fire, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Mumford & Sons, Primus, Florence + the Machine, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Explosions in the Sky, Gogol Bordello, Beirut, Ratatat, Atmosphere, Portugal. The Man, Band of Skulls, Man Man, Jessica Lea Mayfield, The Black Keys, and, you guessed it, many many more.

For more information on Bonnaroo, check out their website.

Notes from the road: Sarah Landau, lighting designer

by Elizabeth Seward on


Photo By: Simon Westgate

The music industry is a traveling one and the touring professionals within the music industry are the focus of Notes from the road. My first Notes from the road story profiled sound engineer Mike Babcock. Now that the summer music festivals are firing up, so are the engines of all those vans and buses that bring touring acts to your city. Musicians and their crew members intrinsically know travel. Today I’m introducing you to a lady who has been gallivanting across the globe for years by way of her work in the music industry. Folks, meet lightning designer Sarah Landau. She’s done lighting for artists like Jason Mraz and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Get to know her and maybe one day, if you’re lucky, follow in her footsteps.

%Gallery-123835%1. How did you get started in lighting?


I was a theater nerd in high school, so signed up for some theatre classes my first semester in college, one of them was Lighting 1. I had an amazing professor who inspired me to view light as an artistic medium–the stage as a canvas. After college i worked in community theatre and off-off broadway in NYC. While living in Brooklyn, I got a dayjob at a production company where old-school roadies gave me on-the-job training in all the practical skills I needed to build a lighting rig. Working weekends at a music venue, I learned how to program and operate lights for lots of different kinds of music. Though professional referrals I got my first and subsequent tours.


2. How do you work with music to create designs?


It all begins with intuition. I interpret the vibe of the music into a visual vocabulary of style, colors, brightness, shadows, backdrops, and lighting positions to get a general concept. That’s then tempered by logistical constraints of budget, size of venues, crew size, etc. Once the design is in place, it’s a matter of choosing which elements of a song necessitate cue changes in lighting, and what those changes consist of–again, a largely intuitive process, with some trial-and error to see what works and doesn’t. Timing the lights to perfectly match tempos is easy, but it’s way more satisfying to tap a button along to a drum beat, and play the lights like an instrument, live.


3. when did you first start travelng for work?


I got my first tour in 2006. Since then, Ive been on the road an average of about 7 months of the year. I quickly realized I didn’t need to keep an apartment, and put my belongings into storage. When I have time off, I rely on craigslist and airbnb for sublets. Without a homebase to worrry about, I live wherever I feel like it. It’s often NYC that I feel most at home, but I’ive been able to try out lots of other places–Vancouver and Melbourne being my favorite livable cities so far.


4. Who have you worked with?


I’ve toured with Brand New, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Gossip, Beach House, Jason Mraz, Glassjaw, All Time Low,The Jesus and Mary Chain.

5. Any tips for bands looking to hire a LD?


Make friends with house LDs at the venues you play and/or check out youtube of your past performances–if a show looked particularly awesome, get in touch with whoever was running your lights at that venue, and see if they’re available!


6. Hygiene secrets for the road?


Flip flops for sketchy dressing room showers. Baby wipes for days you don’t have a shower. Lots of extra socks. I always bring along a sachets of lavender–one to toss in with dirty clothes, and another one for my bunk. Additionally, earplugs are necessary if there is a snore-chestra in the tour bus at night.


7. Favorite places so far?

Touring has taken me to 6 continents, usually always big cities: some of the highlights have been Lima, Tokyo, Ljubljana, Casablanca. But one of the biggest perks of my job are the free flights to and from the tour–they provide the perfect opportunity to tack on travel for pleasure at the beginning or the end of a run, by flying out early, or delaying my return, or just using the flight “home” to go somewhere else cool instead. With this method, Ive been able to go to many more places–New Zealand, Estonia, Copenhagen, Iceland


8. Where are you hoping to go that you havent?


I want to see more of Africa, South America, Russia, and China. I also need to get up to Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana, so I can say I’ve been to all 50 states. The Azores, Canaries, and Galapagos Islands are on the top of my to-do list, as well. And of course, Antarctica, so I’ll have been to every continent.