Bon Appétit Hot 10

[trip style = food & wine] 

It's the third week of August and that means one thing for gourmet globetrotters: the release of Bon Appétit's Hot 10 list of the best new restaurants in America. This annual list is our go-to source for first-rate restaurants from casual luncheonettes to approachable fine dining. When we're looking for a great restaurant in a city we're visiting, we always reference the Hot 10 list, as well as the magazine's list of top 50 nominees from the past few years.

One of my most memorable dining experiences—and my number-one recommended restaurant in San Francisco—was in Bon Appétit's best new restaurant of 2012, State Bird Provisions. At this gorgeous hotspot in the Western Addition, food is served dim sum style off carts rolled past your table by friendly servers. With unique dishes and a great wine list, this restaurant is way more than a gimmick and definitely worth the inevitable line-up!

As a Trip Styler team we've dined at several other hot 10 restaurants: Luce, Ava Gene's and Måurice in Portland, Westward and The Walrus and the Carpenter in Seattle, Grand Central Market Los Angeles and Rolf & Daughters in Nashville. All Trip Styler approved!

Trip Styler Tip: If you can't make it to San Francisco, Seattle, Indianapolis, Austin, Chicago, Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Davidson, NC this year, bring these award-winning restaurant meals to your kitchen with these recipes.

What better reason to explore a new or favorite city for a weekend getaway than a few outstanding meals? Is San Francisco calling? Or is it North Carolina? I can't wait to sink my teeth into Austin. Check out this year's Hot 10.

#1 - AL's Place / San Francisco

#2 - Gjusta / Los Angeles

#3 - Petit Trois / Los Angeles

#4 - Semilla / Brooklyn

#5 - Parachute / Chicago

#6 - Dai Due / Austin

#7 - Kindred / Davidson, NC

#8 - Rintaro / San Francisco

#9 - Manolin / Seattle

#10 - Milktooth / Indianapolis

This post is written by Trip Styler's Assistant Wayfarer/Editor Heather.

Related
San Francisco :: Eat
Spotlight :: Miami
Oregon Travel Diary :: Feasting on Portland
LA, Seriously

[top image and photo collages by @heatherlovesit, all other images via bon appétit]

That Travel Meal: T-H-E Italian Cocktail

[trip style = food + wine]

It's on every menu. It's on top of every table. It's on every set of lips. Enter the Vespa of Italian apéritifs.

To call the Aperol Spritz a meal {per this post's title} is a bit of a stretch; however, as this series profiles palate-pleasers from around the globe, for today's purposes, this tart, fizzy bevvy is the latest inductee into our That Travel Meal hall of fame.

I give you Italy's most in-demand drink—and the official Trip Styler summer cocktail—sure to transport you to a trattoria on a cobblestone street pronto.

Trip Styler Tip: Do like the locals do and pair it with prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe or salty chips. 

Aperol Spritz
- handful of ice
- 2 parts Aperol
- 3 parts prosecco
- 1 part soda
- orange slice to garnish

Trip Styler Tip: To spice up your spritz, add a splash of Lillet and/or Hendrick's gin, and switch up your garnish to lime or grapefruit.

Related
That Travel Meal :: Pok Pok Som Thai Basil Gin Rickey
That Travel Meal :: Best-in-Show Burrata at Ava Gene's
That Travel Meal :: Chevre-Prosciutto-Pear-Arugula Pizza

[photos by @tripstyler featuring @MrTripStyler's hands] 

Italy: Baby Styler Edition

[trip style = luxury + urban + beach + food + wine]

As we boarded the plane for our three-week immersion into Italy, I wasn't sure whether the trip would be BANANAS or breathtaking with Baby Styler in tow. Was it crazy to take a tyke to Italy? Feeling adventurous, I'd been told by multiple Italophiles how much Italians love babies, so I thought we'd give it a go. 

Turns out, Italy with Baby Styler was one of the best trips we've ever taken, and not just because he tried his first pizza—by a Michelin-star chef no less! 

Don't get me wrong, there were moments of mayhem, like the time we had to call housekeeping at our chi-chi Relais & Chateaux hotel when a leaky diaper "situation" ensued on top of the comforter, or when... actually, I'll spare you the details. All in all, I came to the conclusion that if Italy is on your travel list, don't avoid it when you have kids; sprint there as fast as you can.  

Because we're ultra-respectful of other hotel- and restaurant-goers with our wee one, and refuse to sacrifice style when we jet-set, we stay and eat well at the kind of places with white tablecloths. Sometimes that's a problem in North America; in Italy, it's the opposite.

If you walk into an "it" restaurant or hotel in Italy, the staff and other diners welcome you with open arms {some even offer to pick up your child while you eat}. At first, we were taken aback by this outward affection and social grace, but after observing the cultural love for children, we eventually said to ourselves "when in Rome" and for a few minutes ate our pasta while Baby Styler danced beside us in the arms of his new BFF. 

Here are some of our favorite moments with our "bello bambino".

[photos by @tripstyler]

Postcards from Portland

[trip style = urban + beach & sun + food & wine + weekend getaway]

Portland is one of our most requested cities for Trip Styler-approved recommendations. As I tend to visit the City of Roses between the fall and spring, I decided to venture down for a summer getaway in the Pacific Northwest. Known for its award-winning restaurant scene, easygoing lifestyle and friendly locals, Portland offers a guaranteed good time. Besides the usual brunches, happy hours, bike rides and tax-free shopping, I set my sights on two spots I'd been meaning to visit: Sauvie Island and the Multnomah Whiskey Library. Together they make the perfect Portland day. We all know about après-ski and the nineteenth hole—let's make après-beach part of our social practice!

Things to know: Hotel rooms and Airbnbs are pricey and hard to come by during the summer, so plan ahead, stay outside town or snag a last-minute room on Hotel Tonight. I booked the Ace in late April for a July stay, and the rate was twice what I've paid during the winter.

Hot dogs or legs?! We chased the sun to Sauvie Island {pronounced saw-vee or soh-vee}, about 30 minutes north of the city, on a 37°C day. The most popular beaches, Collins and Walton, face the Columbia River. The northern end of Collins beach is clothing optional. Beware of sand so hot it will burn your feet ... etc. ;-)

Pack a picnic basket and stop for berries at one of the many farm markets and pumpkin patches on the island. Looking for a hike? There are a several 2-3-mile trails on the island. Can't get enough? Plan your trip around one of several long table dinners over the summer or stay in this modern farm cottage.

Things to know: Purchase a daily parking permit {$7 usd} on the east side of the island from the Reeder Beach RV Country Store or just north of the bridge from the Cracker Barrel Store to park in all beach and wildlife areas.

"I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany." I couldn't help but quote Ron Burgundy while sitting in a tufted leather couch in the Multnomah Whiskey Library. As I watched bar-backs climb rolling ladders like Belle in Beauty and the Beast to access one of the 1,500 bottles of liquor, including 900 whiskeys, I marveled at the attention to detail and spectacle of the place.

One of the most unique features of the bar is the personal touch. Your cocktails are mixed and your whiskey is poured right in front of you by a bartender who wheels over a bar cart. I started with a 12-year-old Ezra B single-barrel bourbon that my bartender selected for me after I told her what I liked and my price point, followed by a delicious cocktail. Their most popular cocktail is the Old Fashioned, which my friend called the best she's ever had. Two drinks and a few hours later, we pulled ourselves off the leather couch and into the warm evening, passing dozens of people waiting to get inside.

Things to know: Anticipate a long wait for this popular, seated bar. Put in your name and wait in the new Green Room bar below the Library as you sip on a low-proof cocktail designed to open your palate while you wait to be seated upstairs.

This post is written by Trip Styler's Assistant Wayfarer/Editor Heather.

Related
Oregon Travel Diary :: Feasting on Portland
That Travel Meal :: Pok Pok Som Thai Basil Gin Rickey
Pant-Stretching Portland
Fashion Friday :: Falling for Portland

[images via @heatherlovesit & dana avila photography]

Ciao :: Roma with Expedia

[trip style = urban + adventure + food + wine]

Buongiorno. In Ciao!, my intro to Italy dispatch, I hinted at the reason I'm in the land of la dolce vita: An Expedia video project in Rome.

Amore. 

Now that all the stones are set for my road to Rome, I wanted to share the details. This weekend, starting Friday, I'll be showcasing four activities I handpicked from a list of a bazillion tours and small-group activities you can book in the Eternal City via Expedia Local Expert. Here's a rundown: 

Open-air bus tour {$12 usd}
Goal: Get a lay of the land to connect the historical dots.

VIP Caesar’s Palace and Colosseum tour {$87 usd}
Goal: "When in Rome" is fitting for this one...

Small-group pasta-making class {$71 usd}
Goal: Learn the art of al dente, and collect totally-worth-it calories instead of tchotchkes, complete with prosecco.

St. Peter’s Basilica tour {$36 usd}
Goal: In which I get picked up at my hotel, skip the line-up and learn local insights on Italy's largest church.

Follow all my on-the-go updates via the TS Instagram, as well as via the #ExpediaThingsToDo hashtag on all social media platforms. For a bird's eye view of my entire three-week trip, check out #TSRomanHoliday.

[photos via Expedia Local Expert]