The New York City Traveler

A few years ago a collective gasp could be heard from Manhattan.  BLT Burger (the BLT stands for Bistro Laurent Tourondel) had just opened and given birth to a real gourmet burger– a $62 Japanese Kobe beef burger.  Manhattan was left to ponder “Where does Chef Tourondel think he is?  Los Angeles?”    
Since then, the hype has died down and I decided to head up to West Village to have my first BLT Burger.  When I first walked in I thought I was in the wrong place.  The restaurant looked like it was in the midst of an identity …read more

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Starbucks came from fairly humble beginnings, a small storefront in Downtown Seattle, dedicated to the art of making coffee.  Yet, somewhere along the way to world-domination, it all went wrong. 
I realized how dependent I was on the chain when, in February, every single Starbucks was closed for “emergency training.”  I didn’t get the memo and didn’t bother to read the small sign posted on the door of my Soho Starbucks.  That night, in a rainy and cold New York, I was on a mission, running around downtown trying to find a Starbucks that was open.  Unable to wrap my …read more

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Spring is “film festival season” in New York and today marks the opening of the Havana Film Festival New York (HFFNY).  The film festival celebrates the best of Latin America cinema featuring films from Cuba, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America.  The festival runs until Thursday, April 17th. 
Tonight’s opening film, La Noche de los Inocentes (The Night of the Innocents) (Cuba/Spain/Italy), opens with a badly beaten man in the emergency room of La Habana hospital.  Everyone assumes that he’s been assaulted for being a transvestite, but as the night continues, mysterious characters “come out of the woodwork.”  The …read more

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If you do just one thing today, you should head down to Barnes & Noble at Union Square to see former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Marking the publishing date of her new book, Memo to the President Elect, Albright will be discussing the current state of political affairs in the United States.  Hint: She’s not too pleased with the way things are going.  
Albright made history in 1997 when she became the first woman Secretary of State under President Clinton.  Albright, the quintessential diplomat, was served as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 1993-1997.        
Location:  …read more

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Heartland Brewery entered the New York restaurant scene in 1995 at a time when brewpubs were shunned in favor of wine bars. The stigma has long been shed and, since opening their original Union Square location, Heartland Brewery has opened four more brewpubs across the Manhattan area.
The award-winning beer, once brewed on the premises, is now imported from their Fort Greene, Brooklyn facility. One of the most popular brews, Farmer John’s Oatmeal Stout, won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in Colorado. Most beers change with the season. This season’s beer, Smiling …read more

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