New York is known for many things – Times Square, The Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Bronx Zoo, “Sex and the City” – but wine? In fact, New York’s Long Island hosts some of the best vineyards on the east coast.

Just north of Manhattan is Long Island wine country and home of some of the nation’s most unique wines.
Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Long Island sound, Long Island’s wine country produces award-winning wines thanks to the region’s moderate climate. After a weekend in Montauk at the Montauk Yacht Club, I hopped in the car with my girlfriends and headed down Route 27 to taste some of what Long Island has to offer.

Long Island wine country

Our first stop was at Wolffer Estate along Route 27. The Wolffer Estate is known for its rose wine, and to our surprise, you don’t have to be in the south of France to enjoy a rose! The vintage was crisp and clean, with the right depth of a good rose. The bottle was $10.99, a great price for a decent rose. The bonus: A bottle of apple wine, which is a great alternative to Reisling’s or ports as a dessert wine.

Read more from my article on SingleMindedWomen.com

When in China, eat Chinese food – or in my case, cook your own Chinese food! During my recent visit to Shanghai, I took in a cooking class in The Portman Ritz-Carlton’s kitchen. On the menu: siu-mai and chicken and shrimp dumplings.

Preparing dumplings

Adorned in my personalized chef’s jacket and apron, I took to the kitchen and started the fine art of dumpling making. No stranger to getting my hands dirty for a meal, we dug right into the chicken and shrimp mixture, adding flour, oil, salt, pepper, garlic and a dash of spice. The real test of my chef strength came when it was time to mold the dumplings. Who knew there was an art to forming dough?

First, cup your hands as if you’re holding a golf ball. Place the dough in the middle of your palm and scoop and generous portion of the chicken-shrimp filling into the dough. Squeeze the dough so the ends stand up forming a pocket, and the filling flows from the top of the pocket. Level off the filling, and pinch the edges of the ‘pocket’ until it’s firm around the top. Place the dumpling in a bamboo steaming basket and continue on…

When it’s time to steam, cover the basket and place it into a water steamer for 5 minutes.

Here’s the recipe:
INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb chicken thigh (deboned and skinless)
8 medium shrimp (peeled, deveined, and diced into small pieces)
2 black fungus (chopped into thin threads)
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped scallion (white part only)
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
3 dashes white pepper
1/4 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
1/2 tablespoon flour
1/2 tablespoon egg white
A pinch of salt
Round wonton skin

METHOD:

Chop chicken but make sure that it’s corsely ground. Mix the chicken with other ingredients and seasonings and set aside in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Place about a tablespoon of filling on each wrapper, gather up the sides and leave the center open. Steam in a bamboo steamer for about 5-10 minutes. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Chicken Shu Mai dumplings

Any traveler will tell you the best food in any destination is likely found off the beaten path. Case in point: Miami’s Red Light Little River. Don’t let the decor fool you… this little restaurant tucked inside Biscayne Boulevard may look run down from the outside, but the kitchen serves up some of the best food in South Miami.

Walk up the shabby stairs to this neighborhood joint and the smells of barbeque take over. The inside seating is reminiscent of an old hamburger joint from the 1960s, complete with red leather booths and swivel seats at the counter. Ask for a seat outside and you’re transported to a little slice of romance along the river.

South Florida Chef Kris Wessel, originally from New Orleans, runs the joint. Wessel’s grandmother landed in Miami Beach in 1925 and built the restaurant inside of a then notorious prostitute- and drug-filled motel. The neighborhood is still known for its red light ways, but that doesn’t stop Wessel from cooking up a mean meal in the kitchen.

We cozied up to a table and took in the ambiance. The outside is decorated to resemble a garden dining experience. Tree trunks grown from the patio, wildflowers are placed on every table and lantern lights in various shapes and colors hang from the ceiling.

The neon light outside the gentleman’s club – a throwback from the red light days – blinks from across the street, which surprisingly didn’t ruin the mood of this quaint little kitchen.

Gentleman's Club across the river

The meal started with a couple of drinks and the restaurant’s famous little red smoker fish dip. Served cold and packed with fresh crab and white fish, the crock is served with warm flatbread for dipping and the portion is big enough to share. Our second course was a fresh whole artichoke, steamed and bathed in butter then baked in breadcrumbs. It was delicate enough to fall apart in your mouth and savory enough to make you want to lick the bowl it arrived in. Spinach salads and seared scallops made their way to the table, as did another round of Shiraz and Cabernet.

Seared scallops

The main courses of barbeque shrimp (a restaurant favorite) and lamb tips brought out last, and despite the filling pre-dinner portions we savoured every last bite of these New Orleans-infused delicacies. Never one to turn down dessert, the chocolate cake was served with two forks and enough berry glaze to make you think you were eating healthy.

BBQ Shrimp

Before you dine there’s one thing to remember: Wessel cooks everything to order, which means it comes out when it’s ready. You might get your fish before your salad, but no matter what order to eat the meal in you’re sure to leave satisfied and wanting more.

Information:

Red Light Little River www.redlightmiami.com
7700 Biscayne Blvd
Miami, FL 33138
305.757.7773

Ah, the hotel bar – although sometimes underrated, it can actually be home to some of the best bartenders and most creative concoctions around. There’s something wonderful about hotel bars even for those who live in the same city; it’s a chance to see first-hand the kind of traveler your city is attracting, and if you play your hand right, it’s an opportunity for you to get to know a bartender well enough for him to divulge the secrets of the room to you. Some of the best people watching goes down in Boston’s hotel bars, so we’ve offered up a few of our favorite hotel bars for your next trip to Beantown:

M Bar & Lounge, Mandarin Oriental: If elegance and extravagance is what you seek, look no further than M Bar at the Mandarin Oriental Boston. The new hotel sits pretty in Boston’s trendy Back Bay and M Bar plays into the style and sophistication of the neighborhood. The crowd is a mix of high-rollers celebrating a new VC-deal and cougars on the prowl for cubs, and you’ll enjoy a little bit of everything from your corner seat with a Mandarin Martini.

Read more (and get the honorable bar mentions) from my column on Oyster.com

Trattoria Otello alla Concora, Roma

Food was never the same after my first bite in Rome…

With all the smells scenting the streets of Rome, it’s hard to know where to start when you’re hungry. Don’t worry, weary travelers, the best thing about being in Italy is that you can taste everything in one day (as long as you know how to pace yourself).

Nothing wakes you up quite like a coffee from an Italian cafe, and since you’re likely to be a little jetlag from your flight this first cup will be an essential start to your day. Grab a cup of whatever you choose and spend the morning people watching near the Spanish Steps or along the Via Condotti.

Continue reading my post, Foodie Travel: One Day in Rome, on Gadling…

The waiters walk past you, glancing slightly and then continuing on to the next table. They ignore you, but not consciously or even maliciously – they think you’re waiting for your guest. The other people around me are being served coffee and juice, some have bread baskets and other tables are dining on hot eggs and omelettes. “They” are a couple, I am at a table for one.

I watch the room and trace the pattern of the waiters going from table to table, and I’m getting a little annoyed as I wait for someone to come over. The woman who seated me at the restaurant knows I’m only one person – she seated me for one person – surely, she told the other people I was only one person. Then I realize: I’m sitting at a table for one waiting for something to happen. Why? I don’t wait when it comes to my career, why am I waiting to be served eggs?

Now would be the most appropriate time to transition the story into the metaphor the eggs symbolize – being single, and ‘unfertilized’ – but that’s too cliche for me. In fact, the point isn’t about the missing huevos rancheros, or the fact that Mr. Huevo hasn’t galloped down my street to whisk me away to his ranchero. The point is, as single women, unconsciously we wait, but for what?

Beach dining

Sitting alone at Cocotal (one of the resort’s restaurants open for breakfast) I’m admittedly a little teary – maybe it’s because I feel like the cubic zirconia in a sea of diamond rings, or maybe it’s because I’ve been awake for almost two hours without caffeine. Whatever the case, my patience has ended and my single-woman-superhero-psycho-independence is taking over. I’m done waiting.

I stood up, walked over to the waiters station and poured myself cup of hot coffee. I asked one of the servers to place an order of huevos rancheros and, just for added effect, I took the pot of coffee and gracefully walked back to my table for one.

Edgartown Lighthouse, Martha's Vineyard

There are few things as pleasant as Martha’s Vineyard in the off-season. Rain boots, sweatshirts and fall hats serve a purpose that only a true New Englander can appreciate.

Gone are the tank tops and flip-flops, and in their place are fleece cover-ups and cotton scarves.

New to the off-season is the Martha’s Vineyard Food & Wine festival, which is now in its third year. The ferry left at 6:15 pm Friday night and just made it — there was a storm coming in and the seas were getting rough. We arrived in Vineyard Haven 45 minutes later and made our way to Edgartown. Navigating Martha’s Vineyard in the dark isn’t easy, but thankfully, the rain had held off long enough for us to reach the Harbor View Hotel.

The hotel is perfectly placed on the harbor with amazing views of the Edgartown Lighthouse. The wrap-around porch is welcoming with bright blue rocking chairs and an inviting restaurant. Each room is decorated in blue and brown tones and my favorite part: instead of bottled water in the room, the hotel provides its guests with water bottles (free of charge) to fill up on their way in and out for the day. A great green effort!

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My new favorite thing about hotels: rooftop bars. On a recent trip to New York City, I happened to stay at two different hotels, each with a rooftop bar. This wasn’t a requirement for my booking, but it was a nice amenity to my stay.

Rooftop bars have grown up over the years. Plastic chairs and table covers have been replaced with cushioned-lounge chairs and clear plastic tables. Twinkle lights and flowing drapes provide the ambiance for the evening. In New York City, the rooftop bars provide some of the best views of Manhattan (hint: skip the line at the Empire State Building and head to a rooftop bar for a cocktail and the same views).

What I love most about these rooftop bars is the design – they are inviting, enticing and alluring, and posses a certain boudoir-style that not only makes you feel comfortable, but also a little sexy.

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What’s a girl to do when she can’t fit into her skinny jeans? She goes on a diet. But this time I decided to dial up the diet a notch and really diet – and by diet, I mean cleanse. The Blue Print Cleanse.

The premise is simple: for 1, 3 or 5 days, you drink only the juices The Cleanse sends you. The purpose is to rid your body of the impurities that have built up over time thanks to pasturized foods, alcohol, salt and sugar — all substances I’m guilty of digesting on a regular basis. The juices are all natural pure juices made of vegetables and fruits — nothing fake or unordinary. They show up on your doorstep in pre-packed boxes ready to drink and labeled so you don’t have to figure out what’s what or when. It couldn’t be simpler, and so, I cleansed.

Day 1 was disastrous. Everything looked like food. The pencils on my desk resembled hot dogs, the people on the street looked liked different colored candy. I was hungry, but I drank and I drank until I wasn’t hungry any more. The good news is that the hunger didn’t last – after the second juice I was full and feeling good. The bad news is that part of the Cleanse is giving up caffeine, so withdrawal was setting in. That night, I fell asleep at 8 p.m. and got easily the best sleep I’ve had in months.

Day 2 I cheated. I woke up with a splitting headache and immediately brewed myself a cup of coffee. The result was fabulous – euphoria fell over me and soon, I was thinking clear again. Headache gone, juice 1 down for the day, and I was off to get my errands run. Mid-afternoon I caved and bought a bag of almonds. The sensation of chewing was starting to have a hallucinogenic effect on me — I needed to chew something, so I opted for something healthy. I don’t regret my choice.

Day 3 I felt great. Full of energy, able to work and function without the craving for food. I met a friend in the afternoon for jeans shopping and walked out of the store with a new pair of jeans that fit just a little better than I had expected.

The day ended, and I celebrated with a glass of white wine. No, it’s not recommended, but I felt it was OK to reward myself. The BPC was a great way to rid yourself of the crap we eat on a daily basis.

Did I cheat? Yes.

Did I survive? Yes.

Would I do it again? Absolutely.

Boston in the summer is a force to be reconed with. The students have moved out, but the tourists have moved in. It’s hot in the city, and the narrow streets of Boston’s North End get smaller as the feasts get larger.

The North End feasts are a tradition. Starting in July, the every-weekend feasts honor one of the patron Saints. The streets are decorated with red, white and green lights and booths offering everything from pizza slices to cannoli and gelato are set up for all to ‘feast.’  As the summer gets longer, so do the feasts.

A procession through Boston's North End for the Feast

No longer a peaceful spectactor sport, the feasts have grown in the 12 years I’ve lived in the neighborhood from simple age-old traditions to sponsorships and carnival games. Next to the Lady Madonna sits a booth with faux Louis Vitton bags and fake rolex watches. The banners that welcome tourists to the North End are sponsored by local banks or restaurants. I wonder if these ‘additions’ to what once was a religious ritual is really helping the local economy or just providing a commercial distraction.

Every summer I sit on my front step and watch the hundreds of people go by. I wonder if they know the signifcance of the North End feasts, or if they just find the scene exciting and entertaining – like something out of a movie. No matter, really. I know the look in the eyes of the 80+ year-old men who remember the days of feasts long ago… when the courted their wives, played bocce in the streets and drank lemon ice from a paper cup. It’s those memories that will last a lifetime.