Sherman's Travel

Beaver Creek’s slopes may be the star attraction at this sister resort to Vail in Colorado, but they have some competition from an increasingly delectable culinary scene. The latest manifestation of this new foodie fervor is the first annual Beaver Creek Food & Wine Weekend, held January 26-28.

Events range from casual après-ski noshes to semi-formal multi-course dinners with wine pairings. You’ll also find cooking demonstrations, wine seminars, and a meet-and-greet with the chefs. Throughout the three days, event-goers will sample exquisite culinary creations from visiting celebrity chefs – like Tim Love, John Besh, and Stephanie Izard – as well as local talent from area restaurants.

You’ll have to act fast to score tickets, as some programs are already sold out. Tickets start at $75, and all events are for ages 21 and up.

Planning to make a weekend of it? Beaver Creek has lodging packages on offer starting from $425 per person, per night that bundle accommodations, multi-day lift passes, and select event tickets. Click here for more information.

For general trip-planning information, see our Vail and Beaver Creek Travel Guide.

Don’t know a lager from an IPA? A trip to City Swiggers beer shop and tasting room is your chance to become a true beer connoisseur.

With 14 beers on tap and 400 types of beer on sale – as well as a knowledgeable staff – City Swiggers appeals to both beer snobs and those just beginning to branch out from Bud Light.

Patrons can mix and match bottles purchased in six-packs or single bottles off the shelf or from the cooler, or fill up a growler jug with one of the brews on tap. You can even show off your beer knowledge or pick up a few pointers over a cold one in the store.

With recognition from the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, City Swiggers has fast become a new local favorite in a neighborhood better known for wine bars. www.cityswiggers.com

For general trip-planning information, see our New York City Travel Guide.

Restaurant Week is one of the best ways to dine in style, noshing at incredible, well-known restaurants that are otherwise out of the normal price range. Not only does it provide a great excuse for a date night, Restaurant Week is an exhibition of local culture and cuisine. Check out a few of the upcoming winter Restaurant Weeks below, and be sure to check back at OpenTable to make a reservation – and fast, some restaurants book up quicker than a Justin Beiber concert (cough, Le Cirque).

Providence, R.I.
January 15 – 28, 2012; three-course, prix-fixe lunches and dinners ($15 and $30, respectively)

New York City
January 16 – February 10, 2012; three-course, prix-fixe lunches and dinners during the week ($24 and $35, respectively)

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Getting your own show on the Travel Channel? Most of us can just fuhgettaboudit! But born-and-bred Brooklynite Tony Muia has managed to do just that, with an upcoming pilot for a 2012-debut Travel Channel series, A Slice of Brooklyn, currently in the works. Owner and operator of A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours, Tony – a Bensonhurst native – turned his passion into showing people around his beloved hometown first into a bus tour, and now, a nationwide TV series.

The new show will be based on Tony’s A Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tour, which he developed after hearing complaints about subpar pizza options in Manhattan, and will feature Tony and a cast of Brooklyn characters (like his cousin Paula and assorted neighborhood buddies) that help him scout out Brooklyn’s best pizzerias, movie locations, and landmarks, with an authentic, only-in-Brooklyn commentary.

Here with Tony’s two cents on just what makes the borough great, as well as on what to expect from the upcoming show:

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When you think of Mexico, wine production probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. For that, you might blame King Philip II of Spain. When Mexico’s first colonizers began shipping back inexpensive, good quality vintages to the Old World in the 16th century, Spanish vintners protested the competition. Thus, the king outlawed winemaking in the colonies, except for religious purposes, a ban which lasted 200 years. Interestingly enough, it was the Spanish who reignited interest in viticulture when refugees fleeing Franco’s reign brought their Rioja-sipping habits to Mexico.

Today, most Mexican winemakers still come from a European background. The owners of La Redonda Vineyards in the state of Queretaro, about two hours northeast of Mexico City, are no exception. Manager Claudio Bortoluz’s grandfather came to Mexico from Italy after World War II when the Mexican government was recruiting knowledgeable oenologists to oversee developing vineyards. Eventually, he made his way to Queretaro in the early 1970s. Although the family has been growing grapes at La Redonda for well over three decades, it was only in the past seven years that they began producing wine on the property.

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Napa Valley has long since established its reputation as a wine destination, but the region has far more to offer. A duo of new events debuting this November goes beyond the vineyards.

The Napa Valley Film Festival, running November 9-13, brings a little bit of Sundance to wine country. The festival will host dozens of screenings, with everything from big names like Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar, starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role, to short films and documentaries. Scheduled events also include Q&A sessions with the filmmakers, and, naturally, wine tastings. Purchase individual tickets at the door for $20, or spring for a $75 day pass or $245 festival pass; some events are free.

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Last year’s Gulf Coast oil spill threatened to muck up a revitalization movement that had been building in New Orleans since 2005, when Hurricane Katrina first galvanized the city’s creative class to help rebuild. Yet, with characteristic resilience, the city continued to surge ahead, and since last summer, three exceptional nightspots have opened, with keen visionaries at their helms.

Oak, Uptown
Folks who’ve been coming to Oak Street since the inception of the New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival in 2007 have witnessed the rebirth of a neighborhood – one eclectic new boutique, eatery, and gelateria at a time. Take Oak (pictured above), a notable addition to the streetscape, which local lawyer Katie Winters opened last summer. Read more

While the concept of casual destination restaurants isn’t new in the British capital (Terence Conran, the Galvin brothers, and Mark Hix, to name a few, have been pursuing it for years), a spate of recent debuts is signaling a sea change in the city’s dining scene. Increasingly, top London chefs are trimming the foams and fancy emulsions from their menus and instead serving uncomplicated but still delicious fare – often with a Provençal influence – at prices that won’t cause indigestion. Read on for our London Bistros Spotlight, which uncovers the hottest of these low-key eateries.

See our London Travel Guide for more trip-planning information, then use our Travel Search price comparison tool to find the lowest rates on flights, hotels, packages, and more travel deals.

Many people have heard of Hungary’s Tokaj wine region – famous for its sweet wines – but did you know there are a total of 22 wine regions in the country? For an easy day trip from Budapest, head to Etyek, just over 30 minutes west of the city. Etyek is one of Hungary’s youngest wine regions, with a viniculture that dates back to the 18th century. Originally, Etyek produced sparkling wines, and it wasn’t until the 1980s and 90s that wineries began making the switch to other varieties.

Today there are about 30-35 wineries in Etyek. Many are small operations whose vintages rarely leave the region, let alone wind up exported to the U.S. On my recent trip to Budapest, I visited the Rókusfalvy winery (www.rokusfalvypince.hu). The winery – with just 13.5 acres of vineyards – started as a hobby for its owner in 1999 but expanded production in 2006. The majority of grapes grown are whites, including Chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, and pinot gris.

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Already at the helm of several of the Mile High City’s top restaurants (Mizuna, www.mizunadenver.com; Luca, www.lucadenver.com), chef Frank Bonanno recently added a trio of new spots to his repertoire: Lou’s Food Bar (www.lousfoodbar.com), an eatery serving French-American comfort food, Green Russell, a speakeasy, and Wednesday’s Pie (www.wednesdayspie.com), a pie shop open just one day a week. Juggling seven varied venues doesn’t leave Bonanno with time for much else, but he shares some tips on how a visitor can experience his city like a local.

Must-sees: First time visitors to Denver should definitely check out Larimer Square (www.larimersquare.com). It offers a bevy of great, unusual shops (such as Posh and Violet, www.violetstores.com) and a collection of restaurants with solid, interesting menus. It’s near all the theaters and events downtown and it’s just a really cool, beautiful historic block.

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