I had to alert my son (who’s at college in Illinois) that tix for the Bright Eyes concert at Des Moines’ Val Air Ballroom on Aug.8 go on sale tomorrow through ticketmaster – so thought I’d alert all of you too. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to seeing the unlikely duo John Doe and Jill Sobule perform here on Sunday!
Midwestern hotels to check out
Also from a recent issue of Midwest Living:
– Chicago – Elysian, Ritz-Carlton, Hotel Palomar (rat pack-esque doormen!)
– Columbus, Indiana, Inn at Irwin Gardens
– Novi, MI, Baronette Renaissance
– Shell Knob, Missouri, (wherever that is), Stonewater Cove
– Dubuque, Hotel Julien
– Kohler, Wisc., The American Club
– Custer, S.D., Custer State Park Reunion Cabin
Filed under Chicago, Illinois, Indianapolis, LODGING, Michigan, Missouri, South Dakota, Wisconsin
restaurants to check out all over the Midwest
Found a copy of the Jan/Feb 2011 issue of Midwest Living on the library’s sale rack – so scooped it up since there’s always good recommendations on things to do in this neck of the woods. Here’s some restaurant recommendations:
– In Indianapolis, Recess (soup!)
– In Chicago, Gilt Bar and Restaurant on Magnificent Mile.
– Woodbury, Minnesota (where we have friends!), Apertif (rotisserie chicken) and in neighboring St. Paul, Heartland (clever meat and potatoes) and Clearwater, Minn., Nelson Bros. Restaurant (yes, at a restaurant on I-94; fritter french toast w/wild rice sausage)
– Omaha, Hiro 88 (sushi and more in the Old Market district)
– Madison, Wisc. L’Etoile (longstanding haute green cuisine in new location)
– Kansas City, Glace Artisan Ice Cream (peanut butter ice cream with swirl of strawberry jam…) and Succotash
– Traverse City, MI, Soul Hole (southern food in Old Town)
– Iowa City, Blue Bird Diner (Sunday brunch)
Filed under Chicago, DINING, Illinois, Indianapolis, Iowa, Iowa City, Kansas City, Michigan, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Omaha
Avant-garde artist feted in Iowa city
Lil Picard – cabaret actress, Andy Warhol Factory workerbee, avant-garde artist – is the subject of a show at the University of Iowa’s Black Box Theater through May 27. The show is organized by the U of I’s Museum of Art.
Filed under Iowa, Iowa City, museum exhibit
Here’s how to book a room at the FLWright-designed hotel in mason city
Here’s the scoop on staying at the new FLWright-designed hotel that’s reopening in August for business (101 years after it opened.) The hotel – which falls under Stoney Creek Inn auspices – just started taking reservations this week, through one person who I’ve yet to reach. The rooms are available in August (don’t know when specifically). There are 27 guest rooms according to the website. Prices still unknown.
To find out info go to : http://www.stoneycreekinn.com/locations/parkinn.cfm; to call for a reservation call 1-800-659-2220 (press 3 after the first spiel; then press 4 after the next spiel.)
Filed under architecture, Iowa, LODGING, Uncategorized
Last remaining Frank Lloyd Wright-designed hotel reopening sept. in mason city
Finally, after over 20 years effort, millions of dollars, and a massive painstaking renovation, the world’s last remaining hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is scheduled to reopen in Mason City, Iowa in early September (with a soft opening in July, word has it). No word yet on how many rooms or what it will cost to stay at what will be known as “The Historic Park Inn Hotel” (first opened in 1910).
The hotel is one of several architecture-related reasons to visit this northern Iowa city, which has worked hard to preserve and promote its Prairie School buildings. A new Architectural Interpretive Center formally opens in May. Next door to the center is The Wright-designed Stockman House – which I toured last fall and is well worth a visit. Tour season begins in May, I believe. And there are walking tours of all the other Prairie School homes in the area.
Here’s more details:
- The Historic Park Inn Hotel – first opened in 1910 – will reopen as a boutique hotel. A celebration is being planned for Sept. 6-11 (the week marks the 101th anniversary of the hotel’s original opening).
- The long effort to revive the hotel cost about $18.5 million project, spanned three different owners of the property, most recently a citizens group that bought the building for $1 from the city after the hotel got no takers on eBay.
- First opened with an adjoining Wright-designed bank, the hotel (one of six designed by Wright) started deteriorating in the 1920s and closed in 1972. It fell into further disrepair after being converted into apartments and small businesses.
- Mason City is well-known to architecture enthusiasts for its Rock Glen/Rock Crest National Historic District, the largest grouping of Prairie School homes unified by a common natural setting in the U.S.
Filed under architecture, Iowa
Authentic Italian food in Sioux Center, Iowa?
I don’t get up to northwest Iowa often – especially on a weekend – but if/when I do, I plan to check out the Backroom Bistro, a restaurant in Sioux Center run by Giovanni Romano, a native New Yorker who somehow ended up in Iowa and is making killer bruschetta, stuffed shells, veal manicotti, giambotto, cannoli and lasagna Florentine, according to a surprising story in Sunday’s NYTimes. The bistro operates out of the back of the Fruited Plain Cafe, serving meals for 50 people on Friday and Saturday nights.
From chilly nyc (and missing cobra at the Bronz zoo) back to snowy Iowa
Didn’t expect snow when we landed at 10 this morning in Des Moines. Hope it melts soon. I got up at 3:45 a.m. for a 6 a.m. flight from LaGuardia.
Yesterday we braved the Bronx Zoo – and my friend who had the idea conveniently neglected to tell us that an Egyptian cobra had gone missing from the Reptile House. No joke. Which may explain why the place was so empty. I thought it was the cold weather and a March Monday. The good part is we had the place almost to ourselves – and we did not chance upon any cobras (although we did see some snakes, safely behind glass enclosures.)
I wandered around the charming narrow backstreets of the Meatpacking District, passing by various foodie havens included The Spotted Pig (restaurant) and Murray’s (cheese shop) for a few hours before meeting my brother and his lovely wife at Barbuto – a fashionable restaurant on Washington and 12th Streets. The crowd was a little too self-consciously fashionable for me and the ambiance a little too stark (post car-garage interior) but the food, by bigname chef Jonathan Waxman – was terrific. And the company, the best! My brother loved the roasted chicken, which had skin that was crispy without appearing breaded or battered or even fried. I had pot roast atop creamy white polenta that I initially mistook for mashed potatoes. Delicious. The side order of potatoes appeared to be prepared similarly to the chicken – very crispy but also not greasy and served with fresh dusting of Parmesan and sprigs of Rosemary. Yum.
Filed under DINING, New York City, Uncategorized
Brunch on the west side, the Jewish Museum on the east side
Warmer today and just as sunny – we had a very nice brunch at Henry’s, on Broadway near 107th Street. Good service, good food (bacon! eggs! french toast et.al.) and no wait for a table on a Sunday midday. Then to the Jewish Museum on 92nd Street and Fifth Avenue which I’ve never been to and thoroughly enjoyed (sometimes it’s good to be among my own….) The Maira Kalman show was a lot of fun – thoroughly enjoyed. Also liked the gift shop a lot which had fun Passover items, good books, etc. Since we were in the neighborhood, we checked on the 92nd Street Y on Lexington which I’ve long heard about but never been to. Great bastion of culture – a concert and dance performance were going on during our visit.
We walked south along Madison Avenue windowshopping, admiring the lovely formal children’s clothing, the housewares (my friend bought beautiful shower curtain material at a French shop, Madera), the designer boutiques, chocolate shops. We bumped, literally, into large colorfully dressed crowd that had performed in what was apparently a parade celebrating all things Greek. Further south, we dropped in at The Plaza Hotel and walked through the new (or new to me) fancy food court in the basement, tried to get tea in the Palm Court (it was 5 p.m. too late), and paid a visit to the Eloise portrait (a sentimental favorite.) Then taxied back to 108th and Riverside Drive. Nice New York day!
Filed under DINING, museum exhibit, New York City
burgers in Texas, Mexican food in Houston!
More on-the-road suggestions from my friend Kathy:
We ended up eating a lot of Mexican food on this trip (not surprising, I suppose, since we spent so much time in Texas). We did hit a Whataburger once. It’s a chain that bills itself as a “Texas treasure” since the 1950s, and while it is still fast food, I must admit that when this semi-vegetarian first bit into a Whataburger, it reminded me of the drive-in burgers I used to eat when I was a kid. It’s a step above the big chains.
The other restaurant of note was Pappasito’s Cantina in Houston. It had come highly recommended. It’s a chain with restaurants scattered throughout the city and, from the lines forming out the door, a popular one. We waited for about a half hour with a pager in the parking lot, but since it was a balmy, full-moon spring night, the wait wasn’t terrible. The restaurant itself was roomy, and the food worth the wait. I had wonderful fish tacos: a couple of pieces of lovely fish, seasoned and grilled instead of breaded, with a big mound of homemade chunky guacamole and pico de gallo, rice and black beans. C. had steak and chicken fajitas that were also terrific.
TakeBetsywithyou 