Where to Eat and Drink in São Miguel, Azores

I can’t say enough positive things about the Azores. Really. Having visited São Miguel, one of the nine islands in the Azores, I can attest that this autonomous region of Portugal is as fascinating as you’ve heard. It’s a full on, head-over-heels kind of love I’ve got going on for this place, and it doesn’t show any signs of stopping.

Planning a week in São Miguel? As you’re plotting how to get to Sete Cidades or Furnas and booking tours galore, don’t forget to mark off time for São Miguel’s restaurants and bars. Need a little help? Let us help you figure out where to eat and drink in São Miguel, Azores!

Listen, as your average New Yorker, the ritual of morning coffee (and, let’s face it, afternoon coffee) has become deeply ingrained into my everyday life. And just like airlines who proudly proclaim at the end of a flight, “We know you have many choices when you fly, so thanks for flying Airline XYZ,” I know that you have A TON of options when you need your cup o’ joe — whether you’re zipping into a coffee shop or purchasing it at the grocery store to drink at home.

I mean, I used to order at the Starbucks near my old office in Times Square purely out of convenience. (Nothing against ’em, I just found myself on autopilot after four years.) But now that I work remotely, we’ve started to up our coffee game in the same way that we care about cocktails, beer, and wine.

Enter RISE Brewing Co., whose nitro cold brew coffee has become my on-the-go coffee of choice. With its current roundup of coffee cocktail collaborations across the country and delicious products, here is why it’s going to be your next coffee obsession.

If I could be transported back in time to anywhere in the world, it would be 1920s Paris. The City of Light was the epicenter of the cultural, literary, and artistic worlds during the Roaring Twenties, drawing everyone from Picasso and Dalí to Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald to its boulevards. (Besides, my favorite actress — Audrey Hepburn — once remarked, “Paris is always a good idea,” and I’m inclined to believe her.)

I may not have a magical car-turned-time machine to get there à la Owen Wilson in “Midnight in Paris,” but I have found the next best thing: Philip Greene’s newest book, “A Drinkable Feast: A Cocktail Companion to 1920s Paris,” released on October 16. Here’s why it needs to be on your bookshelf, whether you’re a Hemingway scholar or a home bartender.

A long time ago in my college days of yore, a friend returned from winter break with tales of a strange land up north. “They speak French, but it’s not in Europe,” he waved his hands wildly. “They have this one hotel that looks like a huge castle, and there’s fries with these cheese things and gravy. And get this — they have another hotel made completely of ice!” Suffice it to say that I’ve been dreaming about Québec City ever since.

Flash forward fifteen years later: when I learned that the annual Women in Travel Summit was taking place in Québec City in 2018, I knew it was the perfect time to go. Québec City — and its hip food and drink scene — surpassed my expectations, and I can’t wait to share all these spots with you. So without further ado, here’s your ultimate guide to where to eat and drink in Québec City.

Even though it’s possible to live three lifetimes in New York City and still not get to everything the metropolis has to offer, sometimes even diehard New Yorkers need a change of scenery. We’re going to let you in on a little secret: Beacon is one of the coolest day trips from New York City, and after reading about all of the cool things to do in Beacon, NY, we wouldn’t be surprised if you hop on the next train going upstate!

In the “Drinking Buddies” series, I ask fellow travel bloggers to share their favorite bar experience from their travels. In today’s edition, Jen of Jen on a Jet Plane gives you the inside scoop on drinking at The Broken Shaker in Miami.

Picture this: it’s a Friday night, and you’ve decided to try your hand at mixing your own cocktails. You settle on something called a Vieux Carré — a classic cocktail that originated in New Orleans — but as you scan the ingredient list, you realize that you need four different bottles of liquor and two bottles of bitters. Your heart sinks: another cocktail dream bites the dust.

So what do you do when you love cocktails, but don’t want to spend years and lots of moola building up a sizable liquor collection? Enter Maggie Hoffman’s lifesaver of a cocktail recipe book, “The One-Bottle Cocktail,” out today. Here are five reasons why it needs to be on your bookshelf, pronto.

Let’s face it: Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays you love or you loathe. It’s either a chance to celebrate your epic, undying love for one another — complete with roses, candles, and Jacques Torres chocolates, of course — or it’s like having a severe case of déjà vu as you encounter slobbery, sappy, stupid couples everywhere.

But whether you’re with someone, think you’re with someone, or just plain don’t care, February 14 is a great excuse to let New York City’s bars work their magic. Take it from us, the NYC Cocktail Bar Yentes: we’re damn good matchmakers when it comes to hooking you up with a bar you’ll love.

So open your minds, your hearts, and your wallets, folks. Here are five romantic NYC bars that are perfect for Valentine’s Day.

We couldn’t stop laughing. Mr. Five O’Clock and I had just ripped open our holiday gifts and discovered that we’d given each other similar bitters-related presents. He had selected spices and herbs to create bitters for me; I had purchased a bitters-making kit from Hella Cocktail Co. (formerly known as Hella Bitters) for him. This was true love at its finest, we grinned conspiratorially.

Those gifts we exchanged in December 2014 started our lifelong love affair with bitters. (I know this because I combed through my e-mails to verify the date, as fact-checking is key here. When Mr. Five O’Clock gets home, I can tell him I won our bet.)

We’ve been huge fans of Hella Cocktail Co.’s products from the moment we unwrapped those gifts three years ago. We’re practically thisclose to being the OG fans of the company, so you know our fondness for their bottles is legit.

So when we met Eddie, one of the company’s co-founders, through Honeymoon Israel last year, it was like the stars aligned. And when Eddie ~~the cocktail Santa~~ sent us some Hella Cocktail Co. syrups, mixers, and bitters to check out for the 2017 holiday season, it was some seriously magical Hella holiday déjà vu all over again.

So how did the Hella Great Gift Opening Session of 2017 go down? What kind of cocktails can you make with these goodies? What does “hella” even mean? And what are bitters, anyway? Don’t worry: we’ve got you covered.

Let’s get this out of the way early: yes, the Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel will be forever linked to Sofia Coppola’s 2003 film, “Lost in Translation.” Yes, you may have originally clicked on this post because you want to pretend you’re Scarlett Johansson sipping on cocktails with Bill Murray at Park Hyatt Tokyo’s New York Bar.

The iconic hotel bar may have looked stunning in Coppola’s film, but is it really that classy and sophisticated in real life? Are the drinks any good? And, most importantly, is it worth a detour in your precious Tokyo itinerary?

The answer, it turns out, is a resounding yes. In other words, for good times, you’ll want to make it ~~Suntory~~ New York Bar time. Here’s why.

Category: Cocktails & Spirits

Where to Eat and Drink in São Miguel, Azores

RISE Brewing Co.: The Nitro Cold Brew Coffee Company You Need to Know

Book Review: “A Drinkable Feast: A Cocktail Companion to 1920s Paris” by Philip Greene

Where to Eat and Drink in Québec City Right Now

5 Best Things to Do in Beacon, NY: Your Perfect Day Trip from NYC

Drinking Buddies: The Broken Shaker in Miami, Florida

5 Reasons Why Maggie Hoffman’s “The One-Bottle Cocktail” Needs To Be On Your Bookshelf

5 Romantic NYC Bars That Are Perfect for Valentine’s Day

“Hella” Awesome: Why Hella Cocktail Co. Is A Name You Need to Know

Drinks in Translation: Visiting New York Bar at the Park Hyatt Tokyo