Friday, December 31, 2010

America's Most Bizarre Restaurants

Forbes (1-year)Maybe you've eaten when it's dark, but have you ever eaten IN the dark?  Or have you ever eaten a meal while goats munch on grass above you?

In the Forbes.com article called "America's Most Bizarre Restaurants", they explore the dark and the goats, plus nine other interesting (and bizarre) places to eat.

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Thursday, December 30, 2010

NYT Food Critic Reveals His 2010 Stars

The New York TimesSam Sifton has an article in the New York Times called "Dishes That Earned Their Stars".  In it he describes the best 15 food items he ate in New York City during 2010, plus some found memories of food from around the country.  We map just the places he liked in New York City.

If you're a fan of the Food Network shows Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and The Best Thing I ever Ate, then check out our list of the restaurants they visited in the New York City area.

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Monday, December 27, 2010

Follow The Celebs To: Superbowl XLV and Dallas-Fort Worth

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: An All-American Road Trip . . . with Recipes! (Food Network)Love watching the Food Network shows like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and The Best Thing I Ever Ate? It's time to follow Guy Fieri and all the other Food Network celebs, and try out the food they are raving about.

The upcoming Super Bowl XLV will be at the Cowboy's new indoor stadium in Arlington Texas, which is in between Fort Worth and Dallas (aka Dallas-Fort Worth).

The map below can be your guide to food, and below the map, we have some info on how to get Super Bowl tickets.  Or, if you love bowling, Arlington has something to interest you too.

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If you need Super Bowl tickets, check out these resale websites:



Tickets For All NFL Games


$20 Off $300 on NFL Tickets (Code = NFLpreRG)


If you want some activity between meals, Viator offers the most comprehensive online resource for travelers to research, plan and book destination activities. Here are a few things to consider:


Friday, December 24, 2010

America's Best Hot Chocolate

Travel + Leisure (1-year auto-renewal)Where can you get the best cup of hot chocolate? It's hard to beat the one you make at home when you're snuggling up on a cold winter night, but Travel + Leisure has put together 30 places to try out when you're out for the evening, or out of town.

From vegan to mexican, Miami Beach to Bozeman Montana, and cafe to hotel, there is something for everyone, and every taste.

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Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Family Friendly Ski Resorts in the U.S.

Where are the best places to take your family skiing in the U.S.?  We have combined the recommendations of five different websites and articles to help you find the right places to go.  Oh, and to keep up the international relations, we have included a couple in Canada too, eh?

- MSNBC "10 ski resorts perfect for the entire family"
- America's Best Online "Best Ski Resorts in the USA"
- Family Ski Hub "Top 20 Family Ski Resorts"
- Family Ski Trips "10 New England Ski Resorts for Families"
- MSNBC "Top 10 family-friendly ski resorts" * Added 01/06/11 *

Don't forget to move the map around to see all your choices, and zoom in for more detail.

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If you need a place to stay on your ski vacation, vacation rentals can be a great alternative to motels or hotels. Here are a couple of places to find out what's available:

VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) | HomeAway |
Vacation Home Rentals | ABetterStay

Monday, December 20, 2010

20 Overlooked National Landmarks

National Landmarks 2011 Wall CalendarYou may not have heard of Matador Network as they are a fairly new publication.  They say they are "an independent media company serving a global community of people who share a love for life and travel", and their article "20 Overlooked National Landmarks in the U.S." just begged to be mapped.


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Thursday, December 16, 2010

Break Out of the Museum

GQ (1-year auto-renewal)GQ magazine has made a list of "10 most mind-blowing, energizing, unorthodox, and flat-out-cool places to experience art in America".  These are not necessarily the museums that are the most popular, but that almost guarantees that you'll be seeing something different.

Most are public, but a few are by invitation only, which should add to the fun of it all.  Make sure you find out which ones are which before you go.


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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

New York City's Best Kept Secrets

Arthur Frommer's Budget TravelIn this Budget Travel article, they out a number of local places that New Yorkers know and frequent, but that visitors may not know about.

From the Fatty Crab restaurant in uptown, the Muji store in midtown, and the Century 21 department store in downtown, Budget Travel tries to give you a wide variety of ways to explore Manhattan.



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Saturday, December 11, 2010

Follow The Celebs To: New Orleans LA

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: An All-American Road Trip . . . with Recipes! (Food Network)Love watching the Food Network shows like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and The Best Thing I Ever Ate? It's time to follow Guy Fieri and all the other Food Network celebs, and try out the food they are raving about.

When you think of New Orleans, food has to be near the top of the list.  The Food Network celebs have found a wide range of food to sample, from appetizers to desserts, and quite a few within walking distance of each other.


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If you want some activity between meals, Viator offers the most comprehensive online resource for travelers to research, plan and book destination activities. Here are a few things to consider:


Thursday, December 9, 2010

Follow The Celebs To: Miami FL

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: An All-American Road Trip . . . with Recipes! (Food Network)Love watching the Food Network shows like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and The Best Thing I Ever Ate? It's time to follow Guy Fieri and all the other Food Network celebs, and try out the food they are raving about.

Miami has a lot going for it - known as the cruise capital of the world, they were the 2008 "America's Cleanest City", and in 2009 they were the richest city in the United States in terms of purchasing power.  Let us know how these 20 restaurants rank on your culinary scale.


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If you want some activity between meals, Viator offers the most comprehensive online resource for travelers to research, plan and book destination activities. Here are a few things to consider:


Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Train Museums of America

Trains.  Ask anyone born in the first half of the 20th century how they traveled long distances, and chances are they'll say by train.  In 1920 trains were carrying 1.2 Billion passengers, but that was also the beginning of the auto industry, and we all know how that turned out.

Trains still play a role in transporting people and cargo, and there is great interest (and debate) about increasing the role of trains in mass transit.  Revisit the trains, and their history, at the 62 train museums listing on our map.  Chugga Chugga Choo Choo!


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Saturday, December 4, 2010

Follow The Celebs To: Atlanta GA

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: An All-American Road Trip . . . with Recipes! (Food Network)Love watching the Food Network shows like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and The Best Thing I Ever Ate? It's time to follow Guy Fieri and all the other Food Network celebs, and try out the food they are raving about.

It's easy to get to Atlanta.  They have the busiest airport in the U.S., and are a major hub for rail and road.  In this case, all roads aren't leading to Rome, but to the kind of unique food Guy and the other Food Network celebs are good at finding.


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If you want some activity between meals, Viator offers the most comprehensive online resource for travelers to research, plan and book destination activities. Here are a few things to consider:


Thursday, December 2, 2010

Follow The Celebs To: Virginia

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: An All-American Road Trip . . . with Recipes! (Food Network)Love watching the Food Network shows like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and The Best Thing I Ever Ate? It's time to follow Guy Fieri and all the other Food Network celebs, and try out the food they are raving about.

Virginia is for Lovers, and I'm sure that goes for food too.  If you're in the Richmond or Norfolk areas, you have a couple of interesting places to try out.  And for the places that Guy visits, you can even view the episodes ahead of time to make sure you know what to order.  Gotta love that!

Updated June 3, 2011 to include seven more restaurants visited by Guy Fieri.

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Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Where Is The Best Pie In America?

Tis the season of pie, oh my!

With Thanksgiving to whet our whistle (so to speak), now we can get serious about finding the best pie.  Our map below is a combination of a number of articles looking for the best pie:

- Budget Travel "The 5 Best New Pie Shops in America"
- Travel + Leisure "America's Best Pies"
- Round America "Pie Report: The Best Pie in America"
- When.com blog "The Very Best Pie Shops Across America"

Good eating, and let us know if we missed any good pies.


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