Just Back From: New Hampshire

The Theodore in this Seattle hotel's name is a nod to the 36th president, who stayed at the property during and after his term. When it opened in 1930, it was an Art Deco temple, a showcase of the promise of the riches of the Pacific Northwest, and it was all thanks to the help of local creativity and industry, from the furniture makers to the laborers and craftsmen who built the place. It continues to be a tribute to Seattle originality, from the quirky art on the walls to the objects on display chronicling centuries of Washington's innovation culture. (More on that in a moment.) Sleek and sophisticated yet laid-back and casual, Hotel Theodore fuses then and now for a rich and whimsical snapshot of the city. THE STORY The building, crowned with a glowing vintage “Roosevelt” sign, was unveiled in 1930. A model of glamour, it featured a grand lobby and Art Deco detailing. Recent renovations kept the bones of the lobby in place and restored the Art Deco touches. It opened to guests in November 2017. THE QUARTERS Tufted leather headboards and dark wood furniture calls to mind the vintage elegance of the place, but the technology and little perks (Nespresso coffee makers, retro-looking Tivoli clock radios, luxe linens, oversize LCD televisions) remind you you're very much in the 21st century. And a peek inside the mini fridge reminds you you're very much in Seattle, what with the range of local beers to choose from. Among the 153 rooms, there are nine size options. About 80 percent have king beds, but even the smallest Deluxe Double is luxe and spacious. THE NEIGHBORHOOD The hotel sits smack in the middle of downtown Seattle, a notably walkable city. An array of local restaurants as well as familiar retailers—Nordstrom, Macy's, H&M—are located within blocks. It takes 15 minutes or less to walk to the famed Pike Place Market or the hip enclave of Belltown, and a little more than that to reach Capital Hill, a popular tourist destination for coffee-loving visitors, as it's home to the sweeping Starbucks Roastery, a veritable carnival of a coffee house with a food court–like setup and a huge roaster that attracts a picture-snapping crowd every few hours when it motors up. There's even a bar. Should you feel like venturing out to the beach or opt for public transportation to and from the airport, the hotel is a few blocks away from a Link light-rail station. THE FOOD When it opened, the hotel was a pioneering example of a hotel that emphasized experience, not just practicality. To that end, its original restaurant, the Old West-themed Rough Rider Room, was a destination for visitors and well-heeled locals. That ethos remains at the industrial-chic Rider, where you can watch oyster shuckers in the kitchen and cooks at work at the open wood-fired grill station. The dishes—largely seafood—are simple and unencumbered, yet indulgent. The cocktails, on the other hand, are exercises in zany creativity. Case in point: At the Oyster Bar is a mezcal drink with touch of oyster water. The bar is open until midnight, so take your time with those drinks. The breakfast menu offers decadent sweet and savory options. For a midday pick-me-up, MADE Coffee, located in the lobby, is very much in line with coffee-obsessed Seattle code, with its offerings of craft java drinks made with beans roasted on a 1949 Balestra wood-fired roaster. ALL THE REST About those aforementioned objects on display...The hotel teamed with Seattle’s Museum of History & Industry to curate items that tell an engaging history of the city’s innovative spirit. Take time to visit each floor, where you can find cases displaying everything from axes and saws and other logging tools to the digital insides of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos’s first Kindle to draft tools used in designing Boeing’s early aircrafts. But ask any hotel staffer’s opinion, and she’ll likely tell you her favorite is up on the 17th floor: an early model of native son Eddie Bauer’s first down jacket. No matter where your day takes you, try to get back to the hotel between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. for the aperitivo hour, when they offer complimentary drinks. RATES & DEETS Starting at: $149 (November to April), $189 (May to October) Hotel Theodore 1531 7th Ave.Seattle, WA 98101 (206) 621-1200 / hoteltheodore.com

New York City is the center of the jazz universe, the place with the densest concentration of the greatest musicians, the place where aspiring jazzers come to measure themselves against their peers. There are dozens of clubs that book these players, from big name venues to local bars to underground apartment concerts—the city is the most important destination for dedicated fans looking to hear both the old guard preserving the classic roots and contemporary players pushing the boundaries of the music. Here is a selection of some of the most notable places to hear what’s happening. VILLAGE VANGUARD 178 7th Avenue South villagevanguard.com The most famous jazz club in New York City is also the oldest. A roster of legendary musicians performed here since it opened in the 1930s. And what’s more, some of the greatest live jazz albums were recorded here. For decades a bastion of swing and hard bop, over the past ten years the Vanguard has booked more musicians at the leading edge of jazz, like David Murray and Mary Halvorson. Groups play two sets per night, Tuesday through Sunday, and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra plays every Monday, as it has since 1966.  SMALLS JAZZ CLUB 183 West 10th Street smallslive.com A literal stone’s throw from the Vanguard is the aptly names Smalls. Opened in 1994 by musician Mitchell Borden, is a mainstay of the New York jazz scene—it presents at least two different groups a night (with additional matinées on the weekends) and for the dedicated jazz fan has regular jam sessions that begin at 1:00 am. There are regular appearances from old hands like Frank Lacy and Johnny O’Neill, as well as major up-and-coming musicians like Noah Preminger.  DIZZY'S CLUB COCA-COLA Time Warner Center, Columbus Circle, 5th Floor jazz.org At the southwest corner of Central Park is the club for Jazz at Lincoln Center, the leading jazz institution in New York, directed by Wynton Marsalis. Music at Dizzy’s honors the masters and preserves the jazz tradition, and is the best place to hear vocalists survey the Great American Songbook. Dizzy’s has more of a concert hall feel than other clubs, but still has a bar, and serves food.   JAZZ GALLERY 1160 Broadway, 5th Floor jazzgallery.nyc A slow elevator (max occupancy 5) brings you up to this spare, elegant space that has become one of the most important venues for new, live jazz. The Gallery’s schedule emphasizes the contemporary and forward looking scene, and is a place where musicians debut new ideas and groups—Henry Threadgill has presented important music here—and a site for live recordings as well. Still, keep an eye out for the hippest of the old guard, like Lee Konitz. SHAPESHIFTER LAB 18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn shapeshifterlab.com Located on a quiet side street near the “shores” of the Gowanus Canal, Shapeshifter Lab is a combination cutting edge venue and neighborhood joint. The relatively spacious, no-frills room is something of an arts center—you can catch bands and also check out paintings and hear poetry. The sounds here are modern, with some international flavor and the occasional classical and new music concert.  JAZZ STANDARD 116 East 27th Street jazzstandard.com Close by lovely Madison Square Park is this combination club and restaurant. At the Standard, the jazz is as good as it gets (and the lineups can include Brazilian jazz and funk groups—Dr. Lonnie Smith is a regular), and the menu is courtesy of Blue Smoke barbecue.  Like the Vanguard, Mondays are for a regular big band, this one the Mingus Big Band playing music by the master bassist and composer.  55 BAR 55 Christopher Street 55bar.com The third point in the rough triangle that includes the Vanguard and Smalls, 55 Bar is just that, a bar that presents live music. Despite the prime West Village location, Bar 55 is relatively tourist free, perhaps because the only reliable way to find out who’s playing there is to go by and see what’s written on the chalkboard out front. An excellent place for blues as well as jazz, the bar entertains a regular, friendly, local crowd, including musicians there to hear their peers. BLUE NOTE 131 West 3rd Street bluenotejazz.com/newyork The jazz club with the most famous name, the Blue Note is a mini franchise, with branches in California, Hawaii, Italy, Brazil, China, and Japan. That means the club brings in the biggest names, from icons like Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock to commercially prominent musicians like Cassandra Wilson and Paquito D’Rivera. Despite the glossiness (there’s a gift shop), tickets are right in line with the Vanguard, Dizzy’s, et al., and the music is top-notch.  I-BEAM 168 7th Street, Brooklyn ibeambrooklyn.com South along the Gowanus Canal from Shapeshifter and in a still-industrial neighborhood is this room where you can see the leading figures on the cutting edge of jazz in New York in a truly intimate setting—it’s really just a room with a piano and chairs. I-Beam runs on a shoestring and the focus is entirely on the music—their mission statement is to support musicians as they experiment with new works—which means admission is a $15 suggested donation, and there’s no kitchen or bar, nothing but terrific music. 

Most bars are known for a signature cocktail, an extensive beer selection, or an impressive wine cellar. But every so often, you come across a spot that has a laser-focused specialty all of its own. Take, for instance, whiskey. Bourbon bars have opened around the United States at a fast clip, thanks to a boom in the spirit's popularity in recent years, but there are a number of watering holes known for a vast menu of perhaps a more unlikely spirit. Or beer style. Or wine. The sheer volume of options at each will astound you.  AN ELEGANT, WELCOMING GIN PALACE  Whitechapel (whitechapelsf.com) is every Anglophile’s fantasy. And every gin-lover’s too. And anyone who likes cocktails with a botanical zip, actually. And history. Co-owner Martin Cate knows a thing about specializing, as his rum bar Smuggler's Cove quickly became an institution in San Francisco's bar scene when it debuted in 2009. Whitechapel, which opened in the Tenderloin in fall 2015, is designed to look like a bombed-out distillery in a London Underground station, and it shows fierce attention to Victorian-era detail, from the domed ceiling to the battered subway tiles on the wall. That shabby elegance is a nod to the time when gin was thought of as a plague and referred to as “mother’s ruin.” Attention to detail also defines the menu, which is designed like a train timetable. Elevated bar bites and classic pub grub with Indian accents make up the food menu. And as for those drinks, there are more than 700 gins to choose from, priced from $11 to $350-plus. The 12-page roster of cocktails, which ranges from classics to supremely imaginative concoctions, goes well beyond gin and tonics and martinis (though you can get an extensive variety of those here too). The Lamplighter’s Story, for one, blends hibiscus-infused gin, grapefruit marmalade, bitter orange soda, and lemon.  WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE'S MEZCAL (Courtesy @espitadc/Instagram) Whatever you do, do not call the industrial-chic Espita Mezaleria (espitadc.com) a tequila bar. Mezcal, tequila’s rugged yet sophisticated cousin, is made by roasting agave instead of steam-cooking it like tequila producers do. It’s typically produced at small farms instead of massive distilleries. And though it's traditionally consumed as a shot, it’s become a bartender's darling in the past few years because it adds a smoky oomph to any cocktail. Josh Phillips, one of the few Master Mezcaliers in the U.S., helms the bar at this restaurant in Washington, D.C.'s, Shaw neighborhood, and he has more than 100 mezcals on offer, plus a slew of creative cocktails like the Oaxacan Zombie (a Mexican spin on the classic tiki drink), an elevated smoky margarita, and a few inventive house originals. If you’re curious to learn about the range of mezcal flavors and aromas, ask for a flight. And rest assured, there’s plenty of outstanding Mexican food to wash down the drinks, so make a night of it. BUBBLES, BUBBLES, AND MORE BUBBLES (Liza Weisstuch) Wine bars are a dime a dozen, but few specialize in one style the way Ca Va (cavakc.com) does. The Kansas City hangout features more than 100 sparkling wines by the glass and bottle, including magnums, from France, Spain, South Africa, and its home state of Missouri, with a premium on organic, biodynamic, sustainable brands. (The name, by the way, is sah-vah, French for “what’s up,” but it’s also a clever play on cava, the Spanish sparkling vino.) If you think this is an opulent, lavish bar for special occasions, think again. The vibe is casual, and the snazzy chandeliers, marble-top bar, pressed-tin ceiling, shabby metal chairs, and brick wall give it the appearance of a French bistro on a Midwest bender. The kitchen’s moules frites, charcuterie board, and croque madame play to its Gallic side, while snacks like duck-fat kettle corn wink at American childhood classics. And though wine bars can sometimes be a bit intimidating, Ca Va steers clear of that with a creative menu that offers whimsical descriptions for each wine. To whit: “meditation as Champagne,” “sea shell, lemon curd, summer nights." THE GREEN FAIRY ON THE VEGAS STRIP Sage (aria.com/en/restaurants/sage.html), a grand, sweeping restaurant in the Aria Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, has a lot in common with the city’s other luxe restaurants, like indulgent steaks and glitzy décor. But there’s far more that sets it apart, like its vegan menu and its absinthe-focused bar. First things first: absinthe, flavored with anise and other herbs, will not make you trip. It was made illegal in the early 1900s because it had that effect on Paris’s Left Bank artist types, but that’s because they drank too much of it—and it’s argued that drinking too much of any unregulated spirit would have that same hallucinatory effect. Today, absinthe is produced around the world, and Sage showcases a broad range on its clever absinthe cart. Get your camera ready as the bartender serves it table-side the old fashioned way, which makes for quite a spectacle. Placing a slotted absinthe spoon on the rim of the glass and a sugar cube on top, he pours water over the sugar cube, which dissolves and drips into the glass, creating a hazy effect. It feels like the Belle Epoque all over again.   SOUR POWER IN PORTLAND, OREGON (Liza Weisstuch) If you aren’t yet a sour beer enthusiast, Portland's airy, lively Cascade Brewing Barrel House (cascadebrewingbarrelhouse.com), which is essentially the tasting-room extension of the nearby brewery, will make you a fan. Or at least a super-informed drinker, as the strong flavors can be a bit polarizing. The style is a longtime cult favorite of beer geeks that's now making more regular appearances in bars and restaurants. It gets its signature tangy flavors from Brettanomyces, a wild yeast, and barrel aging. And Cascade’s brewers know how to get creative with all that. They offer at least a dozen tap selections that they serve with the same reverence any sommelier would show towards a fine wine. They always have the Rose City Sour, their standard, flavored with rose hips, and seasonal picks like a coffee blonde, which is made with Stumptown coffee, and Kentucky Peach.  FOR SAKE'S SAKE (Liza Weisstuch) Institutional bars, restaurants, bakeries, and music clubs have vanished from New York City, but Decibel (sakebardecible.com) has held strong since the early 1990s, despite radical changes in drinking trends. This hideaway, a cultish favorite in the East Village, is located down a set of metal stairs with only a small light box sign that reads “On Air” indicating the entrance. A mashup of the neighborhood's extinct punk rock bars and Lost in Translation, the dark, intimate bar space is lit by hanging Japanese lanterns, and graffiti is scrawled on the wall and ceiling. (Feel free to contribute.) Snack on edamame, dumplings, or raw chopped octopus while you browse the menu of over 100 sakes. Each one is explained with a clever haiku-like description. (“Soft, delicate aroma and sharp,” “full-bodied sweetness with a crisp, dynamic flavor.”) A visit is an education in its own right, obliterating the myth that sake is just an afterthought served lukewarm. A SHERRY RENAISSANCE IN NYC In the past few years, there’ve been a lot of stereotype-shattering drink revivals—rye whiskey, for instance, pisco from Peru, and Brazillian cachaça. Also on the roster: Sherry. The Spanish wine has long been thought of as the fusty tipple of batty old aunts, but bar owners and bartenders have stepped up to set the record straight. Donostia (donostianyc.com), which sits on an unassuming street in New York’s East Village, is one of the pioneers of the sherry renaissance. The Spanish bar has a casual elegance, with a marble bar top, worn metal stools, and walls adorned with antique maps of Spain’s Basque region. The massive leather-bound menu features pages of options, giving you a chance to thoroughly explore this classic fortified wine in all its sophisticated iterations. Just be sure to come hungry. A mouth-watering array of traditional tapas, like olives, chorizo, manchego, and more olives, are on offer. And in a clever touch in keeping with the Basque theme, there’s tinned fish and other classic Spanish market staples for sale. 

One of the most effective ways to evoke a travel memory or sense of place is to learn to cook some of the dishes that are popular in a favorite destination. And although this is true of regions all over the U.S. and, indeed, the world, bringing home a taste of Cuba may be the most evocative of all. TASTES OF CUBA “Cuban Flavor: Exploring the Island's Unique Places, People, and Cuisine,” by award-winning food, lifestyle, and travel photographer Liza Gershman, makes a beautiful case for Cuba’s enduring appeal. Gershman’s photography and snappy, clear writing deliver not only the classic tastes of Cuba, such as Ropa Vieja and Arroz con Leche, but also the visual juxtapositions that characterize the island’s architecture, fashion, nightlife, and natural beauty. She immerses us in every sensory experience Cuba offers visitors. USER-FRIENDLY RECIPES Of course, the recipes ultimately dominate, and they will keep home cooks happy and busy, with simple ingredients and super-clear steps. After devouring the history, culture, music, and stunning visual impact of the island in Gershman’s scrapbook-style pages, I settled into tackling Roast Pork with Mango Glaze. It’s cooking in my kitchen as I write this, and the aroma, like “Cuban Flavor,” is intoxicating.