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Taipei: hot, smelly, dirty and AMAZING

Angry women yelling at the side of the road trying to get you to buy what they’re hawking. Shopkeepers in stores stalk you, making you feel bad if you don’t buy something.This is why I love Taiwan.Photo Credit: Neil Wade The city of Taipei is what one would expect of any Southeast Asian…

5 Days in Downtown Ithaca With No Car and a Newborn Baby

(You May Have Heard Ithaca is Gorges) In case you missed the message from the Ithaca Visitors’ Bureau, yes, there are a lot of gorges around here, and yes, the area is gorgeous (GET IT?????).It’s also a fairly progressive haven in the middle of right-wing gun country. And it’s also seemingly a magnet for white…

The Four “Worst” Places in NYC to Come Out to Your Families

My fork is shaking as I pick at a swordfish meatball, sending pine nuts scattering across the plate. It’s a warm Thursday night in late spring in Philadelphia and my mom and I are packed tightly into Amis, the casual bistro by Philadelphia great Mark Vetri.In the 30 minutes I’ve been here, I haven’t…

A Day Grows in Red Hook

Including, but certainly not limited to, eating at a restaurant owned by a former dominatrix and listening to bluegrass jam sessions. My tour of Red Hook, if you should ever join me, does not begin in Red Hook.Instead, it begins across the BQE (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) in the lovely little neighborhood of Carroll Gardens (a…

La Morada in the South Bronx Serves Some Delicious Oaxacan Food

New Yorkers love to whine about the Mexican food here. I sorta understand why: Chipotle and Qdoba easily sell more burritos — which, incidentally, were pretty much invented in California — than every other Mexican restaurant in Manhattan put together.Don’t get me wrong: I like a good Chipotle burrito as much as the next guy.But I love…

Vegan Pizza Done Right in NYC

Chef Matthew Kenney’s most recent vegan venture (which opened earlier this year) tackles an oft poorly developed concept: vegan pizza. However, like his signature layered vegan lasagna from his now closed Pure Food & Wine (which was often imitated by vegan restaurants around the city but never quite successfully duplicated), he’s continued on his journey…

You Get Me, Fresco Gelateria

I stumbled onto Fresco Gelateria a couple of years ago in the Lower East Side. I was dating a girl who worked across the street, and she introduced me to Fresco.I spent a lot of time there— it turned into my work spot, my meeting spot, my hash-out-fights with my (ex)-girlfriend spot.There’s just…

FOUND: An Awesome Rooftop Bar in Edgewater (yes, Edgewater)

Edgewater, a lakefront neighborhood in North Chicago, might have plenty of beaches and the best ethic restaurants and grocery stores in the entire city.When it comes to the bar scene, however, thereʼs not much to choose from. Sure, there are a few dive bars with the usual assortment of bland domestic beer and the occasional…