Wine and Spirits Travel

I was up in time to catch the view from my balcony at the Omni Severin before Morgan from Indianapolis Tourism met us in the lobby. We walked the few blocks (I love that everything in Indy is so walkable, it's going to be a great place for Super Bowl 2012) to Cafe Patachou for breakfast. Morgan had been talking about this place and its owner, who had turned the successful restaurants into her own little chain in the city. It was bright and modern, with an interesting menu. Morgan had their famous Cinnamon Toast, which I agreed was delicious. Lisa went for the "Broken Yolk" Sandwich, a massive and gooey plate that she couldn't finish, and I decided to keep it simple with French Toast covered with fresh blueberries. It's all about using local produce and food as much as possible here, and I'm told that extends to Indianapolis Airport, where the restaurants use products from the area. One thing that can't be grown in Indiana is the

It seems like I am always up in the air, but this week I decided to do something a bit different. I hit the road with my friend Lisa for a Midwest adventure from Indianapolis to Cedar Falls to Chicago, where we ended it all at quite a party. Day one began with a  two hours drive to Indy , where we found pouring rain. The plan was to take a Segway tour through White River State Park – weather permitting. We were disappointed, but Morgan Greenlee from the Indianapolis Visitors Bureau quickly adapted the afternoon plans. After we checked into our rooms on the penthouse floor of the Omni Severin , we were off to lunch at a new restaurant in town. Mesh on Mass Avenue . I enjoyed the Short Rib Slow Cooker (without the bun) with a glass of Noel Bossier Vouvray, a semi-sweet French white that was very fruity, and Lisa had a Salmon Caesar salad. Both the restaurant and the menu had a modern feel, which is exactly where all of Indianapolis is heading these days. The city is preparin

I was lucky enough to time my New York visit with the Colorado Tourism Harvest event and it was quite a preview into my trip to come. The event was held at The Little Owl venue down in the Village. It’s an interesting space that’s being used for pop-up dinners, with an open kitchen and plenty of room to mingle. I took my daughter, Sam, along and we spent some time mingling. I was excited to see Anna Watson, who was the lead on my trip to Champagne & Burgundy (she’s now working in the food industry and has a great blog, The Yellow Table ). I have to say that I was extremely impressed with the food and drinks at A Taste of Colorado Harvest event. There was no fish at all, so I was able to try everything. The food was prepared by Chef Justin Cucci (left), who oversees the food at the Denver restaurants Linger and Root Down . The menu was clever and fresh and consisted of passed oversized Hors d'oeuvre that highlighted what’s fresh in the state right now: COLORADO C

I write about wine and spirits travels around the world, but none of my adventures can quite compare with those of Dan Dunn. After all, how do you compare anything to the life of a wine and spirits writer who works for Playboy ? Living Loaded is the true story (with a few exaggerations thrown in there) of Dan Dunn, a liquor and wine writer whose main outlet is Playboy Magazine. Dan spends more than half his life traveling around the world. His dysfunctional upbringing in Philadelphia and inability to commit to a long term relationship fuels his need for heavy duty sex, drugs and booze. And these vices fit nicely in his profession. It is a battle he often discusses with himself, though not in the same way his mentally disabled mother does. My life lends itself to more time for writing books than reading them, but this one had me engaged from beginning to end. There was times when I shook my head in disbelief and others when I smiled because I totally got it, but most of all, I spen