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Post by rango420 on Mar 17, 2024 11:15:11 GMT -6
Had a really incredible 2 weeks in Japan. Really feel like I knocked the itinerary out of the park too which had been giving me a fair amount of anxiety as theres just so much to do. Did Tokyo-Kyoto-Kinosaki-Osaka-Tokyo with a day trip to Nara in there and basically only had 1 miss of a meal with only 3 total reservations and no wasted days. Drank and ate so many cool places, saw some incredible things, knocked a bunch of the big touristy stuff out of the way too in case I get to pull another trip but also feel like we got to get to the greatest hits without making it the focal point of the trip.
Got back home at 4pm friday, got into bed at midnight and only got out of bed 3 times for under an hour until 7 am this morning totaling I believe somewhere around 29 hours of sleep.
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Post by rango420 on Mar 17, 2024 11:16:25 GMT -6
I have a work trip planned to Boston at the end of April - haven't spent time in Boston in about 20 years. Any restaurant/bar/venue recommendations are appreciated. I'll be staying near Boston Common. I went to Boston when I was 16 and a very nice security guard let me watch the Red Sox/White Sox game from the bar inside the Fenway outfield without a ticket as long as I blended in so try that if you are looking to save $20. |
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Post by rango420 on Mar 17, 2024 11:45:39 GMT -6
Had a really incredible 2 weeks in Japan. Really feel like I knocked the itinerary out of the park too which had been giving me a fair amount of anxiety as theres just so much to do. Did Tokyo-Kyoto-Kinosaki-Osaka-Tokyo with a day trip to Nara in there and basically only had 1 miss of a meal with only 3 total reservations and no wasted days. Drank and ate so many cool places, saw some incredible things, knocked a bunch of the big touristy stuff out of the way too in case I get to pull another trip but also feel like we got to get to the greatest hits without making it the focal point of the trip. Got back home at 4pm friday, got into bed at midnight and only got out of bed 3 times for under an hour until 7 am this morning totaling I believe somewhere around 29 hours of sleep. Some Highlights: Fushimi Inari Shrine at sunset in Kyoto and the hike down in darkness. Sumo Tournament in Osaka 2-hour conversation fully through google translate with a bar owner of a 8 person whiskey.bar who played drums for a band that opened for sonic youth in the 90s when the vinyl listening bar in Tokyo dropped "the weight" at 1am after I had 14 highballs. entering the first room with big windows at the Mori Art Museum (on the 53rd floor of a building) right as the sun was setting behind mt fiji. 12 course tonkatsu meal at Ginza Katsukami Wilco dropping "Box Full of Letters" in a 1200 person room in Osaka The young guy next to me at the very sold out 300ish person Wednesday/Mj Lenderman show excitedly double fist pumping at the mortal kombat line in "Bull Believer" Watching some loud and slow shoe gaze bands in a 30 person basement owned by the boredoms guy. Hitting the good luck target with a dish at the top of Mount Daishi after watching 10 people in a row miss and than everyone cheering for me. Todai-Ji temple than wandering around watching deer attacking people filming tiktoks in Nara eating the softest tofu of my life along the water after playing with monkeys in Kyoto |
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Post by llamaoftime on Mar 17, 2024 11:52:53 GMT -6
I have a work trip planned to Boston at the end of April - haven't spent time in Boston in about 20 years. Any restaurant/bar/venue recommendations are appreciated. I'll be staying near Boston Common. We just went last summer Really loved Tatte Bakery for breakfast pastries. We had multiple locations and thought they were all just as good I know this sounds stupid but the fried lobster and waffles at Saltie Girl was one of my favorite dishes of the trip and that restaurant in general was fun The Italian sub at Monica's Mercato ruled |
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Post by fivehole on Mar 24, 2024 16:15:03 GMT -6
Other than the Mustard Museum, anybody have some good Madison recommendations? We're doing a couple of days later this week with our 10yo so we won't be bar hopping or eating anywhere overly fancy.
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Post by kb on Mar 24, 2024 19:33:32 GMT -6
Other than the Mustard Museum, anybody have some good Madison recommendations? We're doing a couple of days later this week with our 10yo so we won't be bar hopping or eating anywhere overly fancy. Not sure how adventurous an eater she is but we went to eno vino once and the view of the capitol was super pretty at night. It's tapas but they have flatbreads and such. |
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Post by thebosma on Mar 24, 2024 20:13:12 GMT -6
Def hit the children’s museum downtown, it’s spectacular. We have taken my nephew a bunch. I’m not a parent so I don’t really know these things but I probably would not bring a 10 year old to the downtown Eno Vino unless their menu has changed significantly since my last visit, but I would bring them to The Old Fashioned on the square and maybe ask if you can sit on the second floor by the window with the capitol view. Similarly the second floor of Lucille would be a good fit. If you like books/reading, A Room of One’s Own bookstore over on Atwood is great, and there’s a bunch of other nice little shops up and down the streets in that neighborhood if that’s your sort of thing. There are also an abundance of great parks if the weather is nice, which is anyone’s guess at this point. If you have some activities planned already I can probably make more targeted recs
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Post by krentist on Mar 24, 2024 21:54:27 GMT -6
Def hit the children’s museum downtown, it’s spectacular. hmmm |
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Post by llamaoftime on Mar 25, 2024 8:52:17 GMT -6
Funny enough will also be going to Wisconsin but for work in two weeks. Almost got Madison but instead got assigned to Green Bay + Appleton. Any food/sights/drinks yall would recommend up there?
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Post by fivehole on Mar 25, 2024 16:52:47 GMT -6
Def hit the children’s museum downtown, it’s spectacular. We have taken my nephew a bunch. I’m not a parent so I don’t really know these things but I probably would not bring a 10 year old to the downtown Eno Vino unless their menu has changed significantly since my last visit, but I would bring them to The Old Fashioned on the square and maybe ask if you can sit on the second floor by the window with the capitol view. Similarly the second floor of Lucille would be a good fit. If you like books/reading, A Room of One’s Own bookstore over on Atwood is great, and there’s a bunch of other nice little shops up and down the streets in that neighborhood if that’s your sort of thing. There are also an abundance of great parks if the weather is nice, which is anyone’s guess at this point. If you have some activities planned already I can probably make more targeted recs Children's Museum was the initial draw so we're definitely doing that. Other than that we had some friends recommend the State Capitol tour and The Old Fashioned. The book store sounds great and Sidekick Fivehole would love it. I'd love to hit up a music store. Maybe a side-trip to New Glarus. |
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Post by alady on Mar 25, 2024 17:32:21 GMT -6
B-Side is still great.
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Post by thebosma on Mar 25, 2024 17:49:32 GMT -6
Strictly Discs is my personal fave for music but people do love B-Side (I have not been there)
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Post by claypoolfan on Apr 1, 2024 11:54:47 GMT -6
Has anyone been to Oaxaca? Planning a trip in October. It'll mostly be mezcal stuff but need to figure out one or two actual cultural things to do too.
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Post by krentist on Apr 1, 2024 12:37:43 GMT -6
I'll be there as well then. Excited to crash your lovers retreat.
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Post by krentist on Apr 1, 2024 12:39:04 GMT -6
In all seriousness, the very nice bartender at Doves sent me an Oaxaca guide he put together. I just forwarded it to you on What's App.
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Post by claypoolfan on Apr 1, 2024 13:14:38 GMT -6
I'll be there as well then. Excited to crash your lovers retreat. Wait really? When are you going? We have an airbnb and mezcal tours booked from 10/22-27 but no flights yet. Thanks for sending that. |
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Post by krentist on Apr 1, 2024 13:15:56 GMT -6
10/31-11/3
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Post by claypoolfan on Apr 1, 2024 13:28:13 GMT -6
We wanted to do that weekend too but it was way cheaper to do it not during dia de los muertos at this point. |
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Post by alady on Apr 1, 2024 14:01:33 GMT -6
My friends just got back and should have some great recs (he's a beverage director and she's a big foodie, hosted some food shows and even the 2020 Beard awards)
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Post by scoots on Apr 2, 2024 9:29:24 GMT -6
Just got back from Chicago last night. The Long Room is really nice and both breakfast spots they have inside the bar were super tasty. We'll be trying to stay there on future trips - the Chicago albums and books were a nice touch. Shedd was incredible and we thankfully caught the dolphin show before we had to head out. I made it out to the Sox game on Saturday afternoon, too.
Overall not a super relaxing trip. Tried to make it out to the burbs each day so we could prioritize time with my parents and ended up putting over 400 miles on our rental. I need some decompression time lol
My kids also set off alarms on a train and at the airport because the buttons are just their height and why not press a giant red button if it's right in front of you.
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Post by scoots on Apr 2, 2024 9:30:00 GMT -6
Oh and Bocadillo Market was one of the best meals I've had recently.
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Post by scoots on Apr 2, 2024 9:48:17 GMT -6
Also my kids taking a dump at the 16 Inch Softball Hall of Fame is the most Chicago thing either of them will ever do.
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Post by claypoolfan on Apr 2, 2024 9:50:39 GMT -6
Your kids sound like they rule
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Post by rango420 on Apr 2, 2024 10:12:13 GMT -6
Oh and Bocadillo Market was one of the best meals I've had recently. top 10 restaurant in the city ATM |
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Post by kb on Apr 2, 2024 10:30:56 GMT -6
went back a few pages here and found some vegas dining recs, but anyone have any good lodging recs? i've never been somehow.
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Post by doso on Apr 2, 2024 10:43:37 GMT -6
went back a few pages here and found some vegas dining recs, but anyone have any good lodging recs? i've never been somehow. The two places I’ve liked were Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Curio Collection by Hilton and Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa. Red Rock is nowhere near the strip but it’s right on the other side of the highway from Red Rock Canyon, which for me is the best reason to visit Vegas by a long stretch. I stayed there for a work conference so all meals were provided by the hotel; I didn’t visit their restaurants. The Virgin Hotel is closer, but it’s still a mile from Las Vegas Blvd, so it’s only worth doing if you have a rental car or you don’t mind Ubering everywhere. Their steakhouse is excellent. I liked the food from the 24 hour “diner”, too. And they have a theater that books touring acts so it’s worth checking the calendar to see who they have scheduled when you’re in town. |
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Post by mookie on Apr 2, 2024 11:03:53 GMT -6
went back a few pages here and found some vegas dining recs, but anyone have any good lodging recs? i've never been somehow. Of the ones we have stayed at, Paris was probably our favorite. Didn’t mind Luxor either. If you are bringing the little one, Excalibur was probably our favorite for the kids |
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Post by borracho on Apr 2, 2024 11:04:02 GMT -6
thinking of a summer trip to seattle to see relatives, but man i haven't been on a vacation since 2017 and seem to have forgotten how to plan a trip oof... airfare, hotel, rental car haha it's not cheap!
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Post by chvrchbarrel on Apr 8, 2024 9:22:00 GMT -6
I was very briefly in Franklin, TN over the weekend for a wedding and squeezed in the following, mostly at the recommendation of one of my coordinators at work who used to live right where we were all staying. -Landed at ~9AM and Ubered directly to the Pancake Pantry at the Nashville Hyatt for breakfast. Listened all the way through OGWAU for the first time while I waited in the 30-40 min line outside with my rolling carryon. I got the banana bread pancakes and they were truly phenomenal. Served with some sort of excellent sweet butter, real maple syrup, and a "cinnamon cream" - was literally scraping the plate with my fork to finish eating, couldn't get enough. -Walked a few blocks to Swaggie Records, one of the only record stores I've been to in recent memory that I would flat-out not recommend whatsoever. I thought everything was pretty steeply overpriced; a lot of $40-50 new releases. I finally found a bin of dusty old records under a Taylor Swift browser and started coming across some actual solid finds. A mint OP of Duran Duran's "Seven and the Ragged Tiger," the "Streets of Fire" OST, a super dusty copy of KC & the Sunshine Band s/t which I've been low-key looking to snag on the cheap for a year or so, and a Jim Croce greatest-hits. Nothing is priced or in a plastic protective sleeve like 99% of the other records in the store. I figure given the state / low-value of most of what's in the browser, these can't be more than a couple bucks apiece. I bring them to the counter and the guy starts taking them all out of the sleeves and inspecting their condition and then rings me up for $48-and-change. I should've just left, but I told the guy if he's just live-pricing records out of what I thought was a discount bin, he can ring me up for two. I take the Streets of Fire OST and the Croce and leave $24-and-change poorer. -Checked into the hotel and immediately went drinking in Franklin. Hop House had some good IPAs but was overall nothing to write home about. An Irish bar down the street that I can't remember the name of served my friends and I (?) Guinnesses and then we went to Grays on Main for a really wonderful dinner where I suffered through my classic "I should've ordered the scallops" complex yet still enjoyed some fried chicken. They served green beans on the side that I honestly couldn't finish eating because they had been smoked, which I liked the idea of, but they just tasted like pure smoke. I was burping the taste of those suckers up for awhile. Only low note of the meal. -Since I was staying out in Franklin, getting back downtown for the hot chicken brunch I was craving seemed like sort of a chore. Party Fowl was one of the recommendations on the list I'd gotten, but I was a little turned off by deplaning at BNA and seeing one immediately outside the gate in the airport (I don't know why, necessarily; there's a Hattie B's there too which is where I likely would've gone on my own). Anyway, there was a Party Fowl in Franklin, so I went and had several delicious double-mimosas which was probably for the best since I thought the chicken was extremely disappointing in terms of heat (tasted fine though). I ordered 'Nashville Hot' and the only heat level above it was 'Poultrygeist' and I didn't feel like shitting fire at a wedding, so. -Was so hungover on Sunday flying home that by 1PM when I hadn't eaten anything yet, I decided the only way I could possibly survive was to get a gyro from the Pyramids Cafe at the airport. This mostly made me feel worse but also felt like a necessary part of my journey. I feel like I made okay use of the slightly limited time I had out and about between Friday and Saturday afternoon, certainly could've done better if I'd had the wherewithal to employ the services of neader, but after a grueling March, I took the list that showed up on my desk and worked with it. Would revisit the Pancake Pantry in Nashville for breakfast, or Gray's in Franklin for lunch/dinner. |
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Post by venom on Apr 8, 2024 9:55:28 GMT -6
-Walked a few blocks to Swaggie Records, one of the only record stores I've been to in recent memory that I would flat-out not recommend whatsoever. I thought everything was pretty steeply overpriced; a lot of $40-50 new releases. I finally found a bin of dusty old records under a Taylor Swift browser and started coming across some actual solid finds. A mint OP of Duran Duran's "Seven and the Ragged Tiger," the "Streets of Fire" OST, a super dusty copy of KC & the Sunshine Band s/t which I've been low-key looking to snag on the cheap for a year or so, and a Jim Croce greatest-hits. Nothing is priced or in a plastic protective sleeve like 99% of the other records in the store. I figure given the state / low-value of most of what's in the browser, these can't be more than a couple bucks apiece. I bring them to the counter and the guy starts taking them all out of the sleeves and inspecting their condition and then rings me up for $48-and-change. I should've just left, but I told the guy if he's just live-pricing records out of what I thought was a discount bin, he can ring me up for two. I take the Streets of Fire OST and the Croce and leave $24-and-change poorer. i have been in a handful of these shops and have no idea how they stay in business. or the ones where they pull up discogs at checkout and just throw the median price on it. if a shop doesn't have prices, i'm looking only for like 3 or 4 of my white whales and then readying for a fight at the counter if i find one. orpheus in arlington, virginia was like this even before vinyl inflation. each record had a colored sticker on the sleeve indicating a price range. at the counter, the guy would meticulously inspect each record and, inevitably, come in at the top of the range on everything. |
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