Wine and Spirits Travel

After a fun day in the suburbs of Chicago and a good night’s sleep at the Le Meridien in Oakbrook, my friend Lynn and I were off to see more of the Midwest. One of the reasons I chose Southwest Michigan as our next stop was for the chance to be along Lake Michigan and our route would take us right along the Great Lake. We were making good time so we decided to take a slight detour to Indiana Dunes. Even after seven years in the Midwest I am still in awe when I look at Lake Michigan and the Dunes were another example of the beauty of it. Lynn and I walked along the beach for a bit and then headed back in the car for the scenic drive to Baroda , Michigan. Along the way we remarked about how we’d love to have one of those houses overlooking the lake and the beach. Our first stop was at a place I can’t compare to another in the world, despite all the wineries, distilleries and breweries I’ve been to. We met Millicent Huminsky, Executive Director of Southwest

I was in the habit of heading to Chicago every month or two to check out a hotel and some restaurants, but my workload had me traveling so much out of the country that it had been a while since I’d been to the Windy City. I grabbed the chance when I heard about a new hotel in town. I headed into Chicago with a friend for the easiest trip there I’d had in a very long time. I almost (note that I said “almost”) felt guilty about just staying at one hotel and going to one restaurant, but we had both been working our tails off the previous few weeks and needed the break. It was an easy two hour drive to downtown. The Kinzie Hotel is located in the building that once housed the Amalfi, though you might not recognize it now. It’s a thoroughly modernized boutique property with some very interesting amenities. It’s always been my pet peeve that the more expensive the hotel (especially in big cities), the less you get. If you stay in a chain’s lowest property, you’ll ge

As much as I love to sip the champagne at the Moet & Chandon bar, I have to give credit to the Heineken people for their innovative spaces at the US Open this year. It’s actually been 22 years since Heineken began their sponsorship of the tournament. While at first it meant the supply of the Dutch brew chilled at all the stands, it expanded to the original Red Star, a bar located near the President’s Gate. Last year, this “bar” turned into a two story building, the top of which housed the new Red Star Café, a full service restaurant and bar. This year they have gone one step further, creating an entire village on top of the food court. I took a walk through Heineken House and I was impressed. Not only is it a great place to relax away from the crowds, you’ll find a selection of food and drinks, as well as games and televisions showing live action of the Open. All of this with incredible views of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.  Tyler Kord,

I usually make a few trips a year to Northern California to visit family and wine country. This year has been more hectic than usual and I haven’t made it at all, so as soon as I had the chance, I was ready to visit some two of my favorite Marin eateries before heading off to Napa and Sonoma. The weekend actually started with a wine country preview, but not my usual kind. I had my first taste of kayaking on the Russian River in Healdsburg thanks to my friend Tracy. I had lots of fun and wish I could have stayed out there as long as my niece and nephew, both of whom are quite the adventurous athletes. I realized just how beautiful this area of Sonoma was and I had just driven by it all for years on my way to wineries. I vowed to do some more exploration in the future of more than just the grapes along the Russian River. While I did discover something new in Sonoma, I was perfectly happy returning to the old while spending the weekend in Marin. I first visited the

The flights to Buffalo were quick and easy and I had no trouble finding my friend Lynn in Buffalo airport. I hadn’t been to this part of upstate New York since I picked my brother up at college (SUNY-Fredonia) many years ago so I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. It was a quick trip to the downtown area. I was immediately struck by the interesting architecture, even comparing the different neighborhoods and buildings to Chicago. It turned out I wasn’t too far off, as Buffalo did share some of the architectural geniuses, such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Frederick Law Olmsted. We quickly dropped our things at the Hotel Lafayette and were met by Peter Burakowski of Visit Buffalo. Our first stop was at Pearl Street Grill & Brewery , known as much for its brews as its food.  We were starving since we’d been traveling for hours and enjoyed a serving of their potato pancakes with homemade applesauce while we waited for the main dishes. Lynn had the Bowtie Pasta and I