The Best U.S. Cities for Singles

by Justin Glow on

You may recognize this “Singles” map from the February 2007 issue of National Geographic. It ranks the number of single women versus the number of single men in metropolitan areas, and you may be surprised at some of the results.

Girls, looking to travel to a bachelor-heavy area? The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metro area, for instance, has the highest population of single males, with 40,000 more than single women. On the flip side, guys, the New York-Newark urban area has 185,000 more single women than men.

What I find particularly interesting is Texas. Dallas, Austin, and Houston all have more single men than women, while San Antonio has more single women. With the influx of military personnel in San Antonio, I would have figured the opposite.

Dining Blind: It’s All The Rage In L.A.

by Jonathon Morgan on

Just when you thought you had eating and drinking all figured out, along comes Dining in the Dark — a new Los Angeles trend for the more adventurous food-lover.

Upon arriving at the Hyatt West Hollywood, you’re taken to a room where you eat a three-course meal — in pitch black. Despite the total darkness, waiters manage to get the food on your plate — but it’s up to you to figure out how to eat it. Cutlery is provided, but most give up and use their hands.

It’s not cheap, at $99 per person for chicken or fish, $105 for beef, but it sounds like a unique experience in letting go of your pre-conceptions about dining out.

Check it out for yourself, every Saturday night at the Hyatt West Hollywood, 8401 Sunset Blvd. Visit the company’s website or call 800.710.1270 for more information.

The 4th 2nd Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational Tomorrow!!!

by Willy Volk on

The 4th 2nd Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational takes place in LA tomorrow! Although the location will not be announced ’til the morn, we do know the doors open at 7 pm, and the cheese flows promptly at 8. Wanna participate? Sorry, registration is closed, but you can still come out, eat, and vote. Also, the organizers are looking for some extra hands to run the merch booth, set up/tear down, and help judge the 3 different sammich categories:

  1. The Missionary Position (Standard bread, butter, and cheese);
  2. The Kama Sutra (Exotic or standard bread, butter, and cheese plus additional ingredients); and,
  3. The Honey Pot (Exotic or standard bread, butter, and cheese, but a sandwich that is sweet in general, or would best be served as dessert).

Um…whatever. In case you haven’t been able to figure it out yet, this ain’t no ord’n’ry cooking competition:


Click To Play

Contestants will be judged on Presentation, Taste, and something called Wessonality. For details about the various sammich categories, the difference between standard and exotic butter, or tips on how to win a trophy, you should check the website.

[Via the I’m-always-having-more-fun-than-you guys at Laughing Squid]

Kwanzaa Parade

by Adrienne Wilson on

A friend of mine just shot me an email telling me to tune into KPFK 90.7 fm radio out of Los Angeles to chill out to some very soothing music and he was right. Thanks to his thinking of me I found yet another cool holiday event that seems worth all your attention. The 5th Annual Kwanzaa Heritage Parade and Festival kicks off December 30, 2006 from 10am-7pm in Leimert Park Village. For those who aren’t quite hip to the African American holiday which takes place every year from December 26th to January 1st, it was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga and is derived from the Swahili word KWANZA, meaning first fruit. Though the roots of the holiday are African an extra ‘A’ was added by Dr. Maulana Karenga to distinguish differences between African and Afro-Americans.

Having never gone to a Kwanzaa parade or any event for that matter in my past it sounds like a great cultural learning experience if all else. They break down the meaning behind each day. The first is Umoja or Unity where individuals strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race. Find out what the other six days represent and make plans to attend if you’re around So. Cal.

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of October 22

by Adrienne Wilson on

Can everyone say TGIF? Boy, am I glad the first hint of the weekend has arrived. It’s been a long one and if your week happened to have been as hectic as mine then you may have missed some of these Gadling pieces, but never fear – they are here.

5. Paris Too Hardcore for the Japanese?:
Culture reads are always fun in my book and seeing how different tourists react in certain countries is also good info to know, but something about this piece on Paris being too tough on Japanese strikes me as odd. I’ve never heard of a city that caused one to seek psychological counseling after your return. Is there anyone out there who can back this up?

4. World’s Most Expensive Restaurants:
Follow poor Erik as he accidentally gets in on a dinner bill at one of NY’s most priciest restaurants and regrets ever showing up. After sharing his own personal story he points those that like having restaurant tabs starting at about $370 a person to this Forbes List of most expensive restaurants. Chow down for me, because you won’t find me there.

3. New York Times Looks at Los Angeles:
Erik lives in New York. Neil lives in Los Angeles. I live in Limbo. What better set of travel bloggers could one possibly find? While I stay out in the land of Limbo I can thank Neil for holding his ground in LA to help provide honest criticism on the City of Angels when folks like the NY Times try to sum it all in one go. If you’re considering travel to LA, read Neil’s blurb and this pretty good read from the NY Times as well. Then let us know what you think.

2. Dirty, Filthy, Nasty, & Unclean Airplanes:
Some find horror in film, but I find horror in real life. I call it soiled seats, filthy carpet and greasy windows 35,000 feet in air. I’m sure you’ve been on a dirty airplane a time or two. Well, reading this piece will probably have you reaching for that barf bag next time you fly.

1. Smoke-Free Hotel Rooms:
With this news I’m sure some non-smokers lungs are singing praise and screaming hallelujah! Yes, it looks as though Westin Hotel & Resorts along with the Marriott are banning smoking altogether in their chain of hotels. Good news for us, but I’m sure those not ready to kick the habit are either pouting or puffing it up in some shady smoked-filled motel room.