On Our Radar: America's Best Hot Dogs

Just in time for the Fourth, Travel and Leisure brings us a round up of America's Best Hot Dogs. Our pick is the Shake Shack dog, especially when eaten at the Mets' Citifield! How do you like your dogs?

Happy Fourth!

Hudson Hall at the Hudson Hotel

Last week, we had the pleasure of dining at Hudson Hall in the revamped Hudson Cafeteria space at New York's Hudson Hotel. The restaurant looks pretty similar to the former Cafeteria, with some communal tables and the same dark wood goth chairs. It's pioneering "modern collegiate mess hall" chic, meaning the food is served old school cafeteria style with self service trays and food options. Lemon drop shots and woo woos are on the menu, hearkening back to the frat parties we went to back in the day.  But that's where the similarities to college end.

The menu, which changes daily, features items like tuna tartar, heirloom spinach salad, Waygu beef sliders, Chilean sea bass and artisinal pizzas. For dessert, there's fresh fruit (cherries on the night we were there), peanut butter pudding and cheesecake. Dorm food was never like this!

There's a video installation (a giant sized TV broken down into sections). Though we're told it's not intended to be a sports bar, the NBA Final game between L.A. and Boston was on the night we were there and we heard that the hotel's many European guests have been watching the World Cup.

Thompson LES Above Allen Opens Up June 9th

The Thompson Lower East Side Hotel's popular night spot, Above Allen, begins its summer hours on June 9th:  Wednesdays to Saturdays 5:00 to 10:00 p.m.  Above Allen will retract is glass roof, making it a truly open-air experience and a fab place to meet friends for happy hour while celebrating the view of the NYC skyline. 


Hotel guests and Above Allen members can access the terrace bar, and non-members can make reservations by emailing AboveAllenReservations@thompsonhotels.com.  You can also show up without reservations; but be prepared to flatter the doorman if you want to get in.  A sexy outfit and great shoes won't hurt either.

Big Book of Barbecue

Add this to your list of summer must reads, The Big Book of BBQ: Recipes and Revelations from the Barbecue Belt. The book from the editors of Southern Living features the best barbecue places in the South, info on the most famous barbecue festivals, recipes, and photos that you can gain five pound from just looking at.

For those who prefer their meat from a cow and sans sauce, Steak: One Man's Search for the World's Tastiest Piece of Beef, is exactly that. Food writer and Condé Nast Traveler contributor Mark Schatzker details his 18-month search for the perfect steak across Argentina, Scotland, Japan, Europe and the states.

The Palm's Prime Time Special

Last week, when we were in the theater district and hungry after a performance of Hair, we stopped by The Palm to take advantage of its Prime Time menu. The times it is offered varies from location to location (in the Times Square Palm it's from 9 pm until close on weekdays), but the menu is the same everywhere. It includes $3.50 kobe sliders, crab cakes, calamari and more, plus $1 oysters and $2 shrimp cocktail.

My hubby and I ordered sliders, Prime cheese steak, crab cakes, oysters and shrimp cocktail. We were dismayed that the sliders weren't cooked to order and questioned whether they were really kobe and ours didn't come with chips as pictured above, but everything else was fantastic. We ordered second of the shrimp.

We were also unimpressed by the bartender who served us. He looked and acted like he had better things to do than work at the bar. Perhaps the tourist-y location had him down? The crowd mostly appeared to regulars, businessmen and folks on business trips.

But overall, it was a delightful experience and a way to get into a famed steakhouse for less than $50 per person. Our total bill which also included an over-sized glass of wine for me and three glasses of beer for my hubby came to $77, pre-tip. Hard to beat, even with the grumpy service.

Find a Palm's Prime Time Special near you.

Red Light Little River: Miami's Local Dining Lounge

After a few nights in South Beach we were eager to get out and try something that wasn't designed exclusively for the travel set and Red Light Little River did not disappoint. It focuses on seafood with a southern influence. Chef Kris Wessel is a New Orleans native which shows up in many of his dishes.

This blink and you'll miss it restaurant is located at the far end of a funky motel in the MiMo District.  Truthfully, we did pass it by and had to flip a U-turn in front of the girly bar next door.  Though the area is a bit sketchy, we're told it's light years better than it was before Red Light moved in.  The retro diner set up and the house dj made it the perfect Sunday night wind down.

Our favorites were the fish dip (common in Miami and excellent here), the bbq Shrimp which wasn't sweet but more tangy and buttery, the Haitian style oxtail with cheddar grits and collards (lick the plate delicious), and the mixed berry cobler.  The prices were amazingly low:  appetizers were under ten dollars and main courses were under twenty dollars. Since our dinner was less than a round of drinks at Setai, it literally pays to leave South Beach and the bonus was the fantastic food at Red Light.  Our friends, Abby and Amanda with Hope, looking happy afterwards:

Burger King to Serve Beer

One of our favorite things when we travel is to see what specialty items McDonald's has on its menu--a McFalafel in Cairo; McCrab Cake in Maryland and McBeer in Germany. Mind you, we're not eating there--just checking out the diversity.

Well, now, thanks to Burger King, we can get a beer with our fast food burgers stateside. A Whopper Bar is set to open in Miami next month. (There is already one at Universal Orlando Resort.) Even with the temptation of 24 hour service, a toppings bar that includes jalapenos and blue cheese sauce and a can of $4.25 Bud, Miller Lite or Budlight Lime (except between the hours of 5 to 8 a.m.), we doubt we'll make it there on our next Miami trip! But if we do, we'll definitely order a Bud Light Lime--there's nothing like it to cut the burn of salsa and jalapenos!