USA Travel Guide

With the summer festival season soon to be in full swing, I couldn’t squeeze in another topic if I wanted to. (Actually I could, because USA Travel Guide is a dictatorship, and I rule with an iron fist).

But the point is that I wouldn’t want to, because the 2^nd Annual Food & Wine Festival at National Harbor is shaping up into a heck of an event. Seminars, amateur cooking contests, regional cuisines, celebrity chefs, kids programming, a waterfront beer garden – and all just a few miles from Washington D.C.? The Food Network devotee in me can hardly stand it!

This year’s theme is “Think Global. Taste Local.”, and this spirit shines through in every event. The festival celebrates the use not just of local ingredients, but of ingredients that are farmed, raised and sourced responsibly. Consumers, restaurateurs and other trade professionals have the chance to learn about the importance of procuring secure, local sources of food, and of course, they get to taste the difference it really makes.

The full calendar has been released yet, and already there’s tons to see and do:  

• What’s Cooking for Kids – a program designed to engender a love of cooking and healthy eating in children (good luck on that second part)

• Seminars/Guest Chefs – Still not sure what the seminars will be, but you can bet on general cooking demonstrations, pairing demonstrations (wine and beer), technique seminars and talks by national executive chefs
• Wine and Product Booths – In many ways the heart of the festival, this is the chance for any visitor to taste the incredible homegrown flavors of artisanal wines, cheeses, ice creams and bread. I’ll be the one wearing twelve different disguises so I can keep mooching samples.
• Belgian Beer Café – It’s a beer café on the banks of the Potomac River. What else do you need to know?
• Celebrity Chefs – If you’re a diehard foodie or industry veteran, the festival will be crawling with familiar faces, but even if the closest you get the culinary world is the occasional reality show, you might still be in luck. Three past competitors from Bravo’s Top Chef – Ariane Duarte, Carla Hall and Spike Mendelsohn – will be at the festival in some capacity, whether it’s hosting a competition or joining a seminar or just chilling out a being famous.
• Country Fair Contest – Amateur cooking/baking competition. Contestants are to submit a prepared original recipe.

And this is just what’s been announced. If you stay up-to-date on the Web site, you’ll be among the first to know about all the new events that come along.

The 2^nd Annual Food & Wine Festival at National Harbor will be held Saturday and Sunday, June 6-7, 2009, at National Harbor, just a hop across the Potomac River from Washington D.C. and, our favorite, Alexandria, Virginia. One-day adult admission is $65.

For hotels in Alexandria near the National Harbor, we’ve always got two to choose: the Crowne Plaza Alexandria – Old Town and the Holiday Inn Alexandria – Historic District. When staying in Alexandria, you’ll need to take the water taxi to the other side of the Potomac. Conveniently, they’re offering admission/ferry combo tickets on the festival Web site.

Have a fun time at the Food & Wine Festival at National Harbor.

It wasn’t that long ago we took a trip to Santa Monica Pier for a little general entertainment. If we’d only waited a month we could have thrown in a soundtrack as well. That’s because in barely more than a month, the famous pier will be awash in the soulful, non-amplified strums of guitar at the LA Acoustic Music Festival.

For your folk music fans out there, come support this dying breed of entertainment.

With a name like LA Acoustic Music Festival, you should have a reasonably good idea what to expect: live acoustic music, and lots of it! Over two days, fifteen performers from folk music greats to tribute groups to specialty acts will take the stage at Santa Monica Pier for one stirring set after another. Acts include Natalie MacMaster, a genre-bending folkie and virtuoso fiddler, the prolific Bruce Cockburn, wicked guitarist Richard Thompson, Jimmy Lafave, Eliza Gilkyson and a Woody Guthrie Tribute act*.

The Web site provides detailed biographies on every performer, so check them out here.

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

The question fluttered around the office for quite a few days: should we do Mother’s Day or not? We’re happy to support the holiday and all, but really, do people travel for Mother’s Day? What the mothers in the office finally decided was that whether or not they do, they most absolutely should!

Gee, I guess that means I have work to do.

For you Californians (and west Nevadans) out there looking for a different kind of Mother’s Day gift, consider a fun-stuffed Mother’s Day Getaway courtesy of the Northwoods Resort in Big Bear Lake, California. Miles apart from fussy flowers or pungent perfume, this trip combines refreshing outdoor entertainment and the luxury treatment that you know mom deserves. It’s all about escaping routine and making Mother’s Day something that the whole family will remember.

Big Bear Lake is an all-seasons resort destination in Southern California, a verdant valley tucked into the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains about 3 hours’ drive from Los Angeles, Orange County and much of western Nevada. We gushed about this place back during ski season, and we’re back again for a rather unusual Mother’s Day gift.

The Northwoods Resort & Conference Center, always our go-to choice for hotels in Big Bear, is offering two Mother’s Day packages that we thought deserved mention.

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

I’m not going to feign expertise here, my knowledge of blues music consists entirely of playing Clapton’s version of “Crossroads” in Guitar Hero and watching the last five minutes of Blues Brothers 2000 (sorry, I’m a metalhead). I do know music festivals, though, and even in a city like Chicago, where it seems there’s a festival for every day of the year, a magnanimous event like the Chicago Blues Festival stands out.

For one thing, it’s one of the largest blues festivals in the world. For another, it’s free!

Every June, a veritable battalion of blues performers, both up-and-comers and legends, descend on Chicago’s Grant Park for three or four days of proud, soulful blues that never fails to get the audience moving. And that’s no small audience: in 2007, the festival attracted more than 800,000 across all four days. Although the event has scaled back to three days in 2009, an attendance of nearly 650,000 is expected, so the time to lock up those hotel reservations is now.

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

It’s been a rather cultured, civilized kind of week here at USA Travel Guide, so for Friday I thought we’d do something a little different: competitive corn eating. It’s a little last minute, but if you happen to live in southeastern United States, here’s a great idea for this weekend.

Technically, the 2009 Sweet Corn Fiesta in West Palm Beach, Florida has lots to offer – games, rides, live music, dance, and free admission to Yesteryear Village, a restored historic community from early Florida – but I’ve got my sights set on one thing and one thing only: seeing someone eat thirty-plus ears of corn in twelve minutes. Why would someone do such a thing? Why else? For the glory!

Sweet corn is actually a feared adversary in the world of competitive eating. The slimy exterior, the tricky architecture, the juicy shrapnel – this is no light weight food. This makes the standing record even more impressive. Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas shucked the world last year (ba dum pshhh) with an expectation-shattering 32.5 ears of corn in twelve minutes, falling just two ears short of the world record. Think about it: how much of a mess do you make eating just one ear of corn? Now imagine eating over thirty in a very brief sitting. This is a true test of championship endurance and resolve.

The Sweet Corn Eating Contest is an International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) event, so people really do pay attention to this thing. There’s also a corn shucking contest for the kids, but that’s just to subliminally ingrain them with labor skills.

You can sign-up for the contests on-site, but registration closes early, so don’t be late. Of course, even if you can’t compete, you’ll have fun aplenty on the spectator side.

The 2009 Sweet Corn Fiesta takes place this Sunday, April 26, at the South Florida Fairgrounds in West Palm Beach, Florida. General adult admission is $7 and bestows unlimited access to games, rides, activities, contest viewing and Yesteryear Village. As with any good food festival, there’s loads of food starring the crop of the day, sweet corn. Learn more about this South Florida event.

West Palm Beach is a drive market destination for Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Jupiter, Cocoa Beach, Cape Coral, even Tampa or Daytona Beach if you really want it. You can drive in to the festival (parking is free, btw), and then head out, but we say make a weekend of it. Consider a stay at the Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Resort, just a few miles from the fairgrounds on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. If the kids are coming along, book the “Kids are King” package for a fun Saturday activity on the cheap.

Have fun, and eat on, soldiers!

It’s shaping up to be a rather eclectic week. Jazz, contemporary art, opera, and today we’ve got an interpretive history museum? I’m starting to wonder who’s really running this thing?

Tomorrow we’ll get back to more important things (like hamburgers), but for now let’s take a fascinating journey into the American past at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, just outside of Lexington, Kentucky.

With 34 buildings and 3,000 acres of fitfully-restored farmland, the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, or Shakertown, is the largest restored Shaker community in America today. Like another of our favorite American history attractions, Colonial Williamsburg, the Shaker Village is more than a museum; it is a window into the people and places of another time, blending authentic architecture and artifacts with interpretive performance.

The most impressive attraction is likely the grounds themselves. You’re able to explore 14 original Shaker buildings and over 25 miles of iconic rock fences, also the largest collection in the country. During your tour, guided or not, you’ll learn about the life of the Shakers during the mid-19^th century first hand through the performances of costumed interpreters, whether they’re playing music, making brooms, blacksmithing or simply tending the gardens.

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

No matter where you live in the United States, if there’s a sizable population in your town there’s a good chance you have at least one sister city. But do you know which it is? According to Wikipedia, we have eight here in the Big D, ranging every where from Mexico to Latvia to the Czech Republic. Would your average, everyday, walk-up-and-ask-them-on-the-street Dallasite know that? Of course not!

(So much for fostering international cooperation and community)

In Charleston, South Carolina, however, not only do they know who their sister city is, they celebrate it in the most appropriate way: adopting one of their festivals. Once an abandoned tradition from the 70’s and 80’s, the Spoleto Festival USA will host its third annual event this May in celebration of Charleston’s sister city, Spoleto, Italy. Dedicated to art, music and the power of performance, this is surely one of the east coast’s most exciting cultural events.

A little bit of history: in 1958, the relatively small town of Spoleto, located near Rome, was selected as the host of the Festival of the Two Worlds, an event for young, up-and-coming artists to share the stage with renowned master. In 1977, the founder of the Festival of the Two Worlds worked together with acclaimed American conductor Christopher Keene to found a sister event in the U.S. The spot was Charleston, South Carolina, and the event was the Spoleto Festival USA. All was good for 15 years or so when a fallout among the organizers lead to a lengthy hiatus. Not until 2007 did the North America-based version finally see light of day once again. And it’s back stronger the ever!

From May 22 to June 7, the Spoleto Festival USA will take over the Charleston, South Carolina events calendar for a whirlwind of dance, contemporary music, theatre, jazz, festival gatherings, talks and even opera. As in Italy, the USA festival nurtures the talent of newer artists, celebrates innovative presentations and expands appreciation of the arts. With more than 80,000 attendees expected throughout the festival, you can bet there’s plenty worth seeing.

Like a film festival, the Spoleto Festival USA charges admission by presentation, so you’ll want to scrutinize their Web site to find the best time to visit, and with limited seating a consistent problem, be sure to start looking at those tickets right away.

Hotels in Charleston, South Carolina? What else but the Mills House Hotel? This historical property is renowned for its luxury and location, and as a fun aside, the Mills House has even hosted the mayor of Spoleto, Italy, Massimo Brunini, during his visits to the festival.

So go on, inject some culture into your summer with a trip to Charleston and the Spoleto Festival USA.

Some friends on the West Coast asked used to do a quick write-up on a new art exhibit that’s generating a lot of buzz over at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. One look at the gallery and we couldn’t say no!

Running from now until June 21, 2009 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) is the unusual, enticing and all-around thought-provoking Yinka Shonibare, MBE: A Flying Machine for Every Man, Woman and Child and Other Astonishing Works. Combining not-so-authentic African fabrics, modern commentary and fantastic, yet historically-based imagery, this new gallery represents the celebrated London artist at his most whimsical.

Yinka Shonibare, awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2005, is a renowned contemporary painter, photographer and filmmaker, but he is best known for his scene-stealing sculpture installations. Born in England and raised in Nigeria, Shonibare’s works often present his unique bicultural perspective and challenge concepts such as race, class and, in fact, the existence of culture at all.

His trademark is the use of headless mannequins dressed in highly-tailored African fabrics; however even in his fabric choice he challenges the expectations of the viewer. The boldly-colored fabric, so readily identified with sub-Saharan Africa, is actually produced in England and exported to Africa and much of the rest of the world. By playing with the assumptions of his audience, Shonibare adds a quiet significance to even the loudest pieces.

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

It might be a little early to head out on that summer beach vacation, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad time to hit sunny Redondo Beach. If you’ll be in the Los Angeles area a couple weekends from now, head down to Redondo Beach for the Art & Jazz Festival 2009 at Redondo Beach Pier.

I could probably get away with a short post. After all, it is called “Art & Jazz” festival; you don’t really need me to explain what it’s all about. Then again, this isn’t just any twentieth day of the month. I bet there’s more than one of you out there who has all the time in the world.

So, from the top. The Redondo Beach Art & Jazz Festival brings together a gaggle of local jazz performers and artists, as well as restaurants and crafts vendors for a two-day celebration of music and fun at the famous Redondo Beach Pier. While the smooth sounds of jazz waft through the air, you can stroll the Pier, check out remarkable arts and crafts and sample the tasty treats of several top area restaurants. Participating restaurants include Kincaid’s, an upscale chophouse that comes highly recommended by me, and Old Tony’s, a sort of Redondo Beach landmark known for delicious seafood served right on the Pier.

Of course, the best part is that the Art & Jazz Festival is completely free to visit. Since it takes place on the Pier, there’s no admission charge to watch the bands. They’ll be doing their thing; you can pay attention or not.

The Art & Jazz Festival 2009 takes place from May 2-3 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day. There’s a little bit more to learn at the Redondo Beach Pier Web site.

If you’re traveling in, why not stay where you can walk to the Pier? The Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach Hotel is located within walking-distance of the pier and provides a cozy stay for not too much, considering the market.

We’ve championed a fair few restaurants here on USA Travel Guide, from the very old to the charmingly unique, so it was only a matter of time before we held up the torch for the most American food of them all: the hamburger.*

Of course, a dish of this magnitude can’t have the leisure of a single origin. There are more than a dozen claims spanning the continental 48, many of which have, or seem to have, some real merit behind them. Even the U.S. government has a stance on the issue, and it’s with them that we’ve chosen to side. According to the Library of Congress, the first hamburger served in the United State was served in 1895 by Louis Lassen at Louis’ Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut.

They’re still serving that very same recipe today.

Louis’ Lunch is a culinary Mecca. It is a place that all disciples of the burger should travel in order to praise the original and, some say, still best burger in the world. Do not be off-put, however, by the lack of pomp and circumstance. Despite the immense legacy, Louis’ Lunch maintains its grab-and-go neighborhood feel to this day, built on the back of a burger that has kept the shop on top for 114 years.

This isn’t to say they don’t do things a little different. Here’s your Louis’ Lunch primer:

All burgers are cooked to medium rare in an antique vertical cast iron stove from 1898 that is able to cook the meat on both sides simultaneously. Burgers are served on toasted white bread with cheese, tomato and onion only. No ketchup, no mustard, no mayonnaise. If you plan to add your own, better wait to do it off-property, lest you be accosted by staff and other customers.

Louis’ Lunch would like all customers to know that they are not Burger King, and as such they do not take pride it doing it “your way”. Their way has been popular for over 100 years; your way is surely inferior.

Depending on your timing, you may also enjoy a hot dog or steak sandwich, but honestly if you’re traveling in, to order anything but the burger would be crime. See the menu.

Louis’ Lunch is located in downtown New Haven, Connecticut just one block from Yale University. They’re closed on Mondays and open late Thursday through Saturday. Be warned, they close up shop entirely a few times throughout the year: second week in January, the week of Good Friday, and the entire month of August for Spoon Inventory. Learn more about the restaurant here.

For hotels near Yale University, we like the Holiday Inn Express Shelton Hotel – Trumbull. It won’t get you the closest to the university, but it’s an easy drive and the rewarding accommodations always make the trip an afterthought.

*Sorry, apple lobby. Unpatriotic as it may be, I just don’t like your pie.