Best Restaurants for Budget Travelers in VENICE

Mmmm...baklava. Can't you almost taste the flaky pastry right now? Baklava making was honed in Ottoman sultans' kitchens in the 1600s, so who better to share the perfect baklava recipe with us than an actual Ottoman palace? The Çırağan Palace Kempinski Istanbul is now a swanky 5-star hotel—complete with Turkish baths and an infinity pool—but more than 300 years ago, it served as the royal abode of Admiral Kılıç Ali Pasha, one of the Ottoman empire's greatest admirals, and eventually flourished into the extravagant 19th-century palace of Sultan Abdülaziz. Even if a stay in the property's "sultan suite" (24-hour butler included) doesn't exactly gel with your budget, you can still make like a pasha and savor this baklava recipe from the hotel's classic-Ottoman-cuisine-focused kitchen. Golden Baklava Ingredients Syrup: 3 cups sugar, or 2 cups sugar and 1 cup honey 1 1/2 cups water 2 Tbsp lemon juice 5 pieces saffron Filling: 1 lb hazelnuts, coarsely ground (about 4 cups) 1/4 cup sugar 1 to 2 tsp ground cinnamon 1 lb (about 24 sheets) phyllo dough About 1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter Preparation: 1. To make the syrup: Stir the sugar, water, lemon juice, saffron, low heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Stop stirring, increase the heat to medium, and cook until the mixture is slightly syrupy, about 5 minutes (it will register 225˚ on a candy thermometer). 2. To make the filling: Combine all the filling ingredients. 3. Preheat the oven to 350˚. Grease a 12-by-9-inch or 13-by-9-inch baking pan or 15-by-10-inch jelly roll pan. 4. Place a sheet of phyllo in the prepared pan and lightly brush with butter. Repeat with seven more sheets. Spread with half of the filling. Top with eight more sheets, brushing each with butter. Use any torn sheets in the middle layer. Spread with the remaining nut mixture and end with a top layer of eight sheets, continuing to brush each with butter. Trim any overhanging edges. 5. Using a sharp knife, cut 6 equal lengthwise strips (about 1 3/4 inches wide) through the top layer of pastry. Make 1 1/2-inch-wide diagonal cuts across the strips to form diamond shapes. 6. Just before baking, lightly sprinkle the top of the pastry with cold water. This inhibits the pastry from curling. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300˚ and bake until golden brown, about 15 additional minutes. 7. Cut through the scored lines. Drizzle the hot syrup slowly over the hot baklava and let cool for at least 4 hours. 8. If desired, coat each piece of baklava with gold leaves as a garnish. Serve at room temperature.

Ever visited London at Christmastime? Then you know that the spirit of Charles Dickens burns brightest during the dark December days that he immortalized in A Christmas Carol. You can't walk the narrow streets or drop into a cozy pub without being transported back to the 19th-century world of Ebenezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim. (If you're headed to the Big Smoke, take an easy, charming "Dickens of a tour" guided by my Happy Birthday, Charles Dickens post from a few years back!) But along with "Bah! Humbug," and "God bless us, every one," here's a Dickens quote that you don't hear around the holidays but probably should: "The yolk of a new-laid egg, beaten up... with a glass of sound sherry, nutmeg, and powdered sugar." The author was sharing, in his masterpiece Little Dorrit, a recipe for a popular drink of the day known as "flip." What's the connection between Victorian London and the 2014 holiday season? Well, flip is an early forebear to eggnog. You might say there's no better way to toast the holiday or the New Year than to raise a glass of "nog," a drink that traces its roots to Medieval Britain and happily jumped the "pond" to the American colonies—which had plenty of fresh eggs, milk, and Caribbean rum to go around. These days, eggnog comes in a variety of flavors, and although good Caribbean rum is still used in several fantastic recipes, it's common to see Kentucky bourbon, European vodka, Canadian sherry, and other spirits make an appearance. Here, some of our favorite glasses of 'nog for your next holiday celebration! TAP THE EGGNOG (Serves 18-20) Created by Jonathan Pogash, The Cocktail Guru 1 bottle rye sherry (we love Tap Rye Sherry Finished 8 Year Old Canadian Whisky) 10 Large, fresh grade AA eggs, separated 1 cup Superfine sugar 3 cups Heavy cream 6 tsp. Pure almond extract 6 tsp. Pure vanilla extract 1 tsp. Pumpkin pie spice Directions:  Separate eggs into two bowls. Beat yolks until stiff, and beat whites with half the sugar until peaks form. Slowly fold whites and yolks together. Separately, beat cream with almond extract, vanilla and remaining sugar in a bowl until stiff. Slowly fold in cream with egg mixture. Add whisky and stir gently. Refrigerate overnight, or serve immediately into a cocktail, wine, flute or toddy glass and garnish with grated nutmeg and cinnamon.  VANILLA EGGNOG MARTINI 1 oz. vanilla vodka (we like Van Gogh Vanilla Vodka) 3/4 oz. Amaretto 2-1/2 oz. Eggnog, already prepared Directions:  Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass. Dust with freshly grated nutmeg or cinnamon. HOLIDAY NOGTINI 1-1/2 oz. Molinari Sambuca Extra 3 oz. Eggnog, already prepared  1/2 oz. Monin Gingerbread Syrup Directions:  Combine ingredients with ice in mixing glass.  Cap and shake.  Strain into graham cracker rimmed martini glass.  Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. PANAMANIAN EGGNOG Created by Jonathan Pogash, The Cocktail Guru 2 oz. rum (we love Ron Abuelo Añejo) 3/4 oz. Demerara syrup 1 oz. Heavy cream Pinch of each ground cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger 1 whole egg Directions:  Shake ingredients very well with ice and strain into a martini glass or punch glass. Garnish with extra freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon stick.

For first-time visitors to New York City, Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton sure packed in a huge amount of Big Apple highlights in record time. A whirlwind Sunday-through-Tuesday trip had the royals zooming from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, to the Financial District to the Upper East Side, then back to London via JFK Airport in Queens—all while remaining stately and dignified. As we all know, though, New York welcomes everyone—the tired, the poor, the huddled masses... You catch our drift. Here's how we commoners can follow the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's aristocratic itinerary without spending a pence more than absolutely necessary. 1. The Carlyle Hotel Where it is: NYC's tony Upper East Side, rosewoodhotels.com Highlight you have to see: Take the stairs up to the hotel's bar to peek at the giant wall murals featuring the children's book character Madeline. Her creator, Ludwig Bemelmans, gifted the iconic scenes to the Carlyle in exchange for a year and a half's stay for him and his family. It's worth noting that the hotel was one of Princess Diana's favorites. How you can go for cheap: Reserving a room at the Carlyle this time of year starts at a hefty $585 per night (rumor has it Kate and Wills' luxury suite cost as much as $10,000 a night). But in the early evenings, for the price of a drink (from $9), you can sit at Bemelmans Bar, munch on complimentary nuts and snack mix, and listen to the musical stylings of talented pianists such as Earl Rose and Chris Gillespie. Pro tip: They sometimes take requests. 2. The Barclays Center Where it is: Across the Brooklyn Bridge in Prospect Heights, barclayscenter.com Highlight you have to see: Make like William and Kate and take in a New Jersey Nets game—or grab tickets to shows by acts from Justin Timberlake to The National to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. If you're like us, you'll want to peruse the pre-concert food options: Brooklyn favorites Nathan's hot dogs, Williamsburg Pizza, Fatty 'Cue BBQ, and other innovative standbys all have indoor posts along the stadium's circumference. How you can go for cheap: You'll have to beat Ticketmaster on this one. Military and first responders can score discounted tickets. Otherwise, sign up for Barclays email and newsletter offers and scour sites like Craigslist, CheapTickets, and StubHub for deals. 3. The 9/11 Memorial Museum Where it is: Downtown, in Manhattan's Financial District, 911memorial.org Highlight you have to see: The museum's steel "tridents," two 70-foot columns of the Twin Towers' facade that remain, and the Survivor Tree, a callery pear tree that weathered the attacks and was rehabilitated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. How you can go for cheap: Admission is free every Tuesday from 5 p.m. to close. Book in advance at 911memorial.org/freetuesdays, or head to the ticket window at 4:30 p.m. on the Tuesday you'd like to visit. If you'd prefer to visit the outdoor reflecting pools rather than venture inside the museum, quiet observation is always free. 4. The Door Where it is: The edge of SoHo, thedoor.org Highlight you have to see: The Door is a non-profit organization that aims to assist NYC's "disconnected youth." Programs offered include tutoring, foster care, English language classes, and free meals. How you can go for cheap: There's no admission fee to help the city's young people. The org holds regular volunteer information sessions every Tuesday from 5:45 to 6:15 p.m. Find out more at thedoor.org. 5. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Where it is: The Museum Mile section of the Upper East Side, next to Central Park, metmuseum.org Highlights you have to see: The royals were at the Met to get their black-tie gala on at a fund-raiser for their alma mater, St. Andrews University in Scotland, but for those of us who prefer to view our art in slacks and flats, popular works that see high foot traffic include Jackson Pollock's Autumn Rhythm (Number 30), Claude Monet's Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies, and Emanuel Leutze's Washington Crossing the Delaware. What you'll personally enjoy is subjective, of course. One of our favorite aesthetic pleasures is the Greek sculpture Marble statue of a kouros (better known as the "New York Kouros")—and the view from the Roof Garden Café and Martini Bar on the museum's rooftop. How you can go for cheap: Technically, the $25 admission is a suggested donation, so you don't have to pay the full cost. If cheaping out feels chintzy, you could become a member for a tax-deductible $80 per year, which includes unlimited free admission plus discounted merch. Only in town for a bit? Consider purchasing an NYC CityPASS for $109, which ushers you into a slew of attractions including the Met, the Empire State Building Observatory, the Statue of Liberty, and others—and you get to skip the ticket lines. 6. The Empire State Building Where it is: Smack dab in the middle of Manhattan, as it should be, esbnyc.com Highlight you have to see: The view. It really is worth the 102-floor vertical trip. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio accompanied Prince William to the top, joining the list of famous Empire State twosomes including Cary Grant and Debra Kerr, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, and Mindy Lahiri and Danny Castellano. How you can go for cheap: Riding up only to the 86th floor is the cheapest option at $29, but $46 will take you 16 floors higher, to the tallest vantage point. Just be patient: The "Express" lines move faster, but the prices are nearly double. Also, see the CityPASS option above — it'll get you onto the 86th floor, which could be worth it if you're short on time and plan to pack as many sights as you can into your visit. Just like the royals do.

Even as temperatures across the country start to drop, ice cream will always be in season, especially if we're talking about locally made, artisanal, and downright "mmm"-worthy small-batch pints. This month, Salt & Straw Ice Cream, based in Portland, Oregon, took inspiration from the state's winter harvest to concoct five zany new limited-time holiday flavors available now until December 30. Is there a fruitcake flavor, you ask? Oh, yes. There's a fruitcake flavor. Here's the scoop on Salt & Straw's new licks: Peppermint Cocoa Not content with merely stirring crushed peppermint candies alone into his ice cream, head ice cream maker Tyler Malek upped the ante and added local peppermint oil from Columbia County's Seely Mint Farms and chocolate from Portland's Holy Kakow to perfect this icy spin on the hot drink. Bourbon Pecan Pie Picture it: bourbon ice cream made with strong, four-year barrel-aged bourbon from Portland's Eastside Distilling and swirled with ribbons of pecan pie custard. No, you're not dreaming. Topping a slice of the real thing with a creamy scoop of this stuff just might be dessert heaven. Spiked Eggnog The boozy muse for this recipe is the legendary tequila-, sherry-, and nutmeg-infused eggnog whipped up by bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler at Clyde Common in Portland. Customers look forward to the seasonal cocktail every year, and now you can taste it in frozen form. We'll look the other way if you top your bowl off with a splash of tequila. Mincemeat Pie Whaaaa? You read that right. This British-inspired flavor has everything: chopped shortbread cookies, brandy-soaked candied orange peels, currants, and ginger. Just call it sugar 'n' spice and everything nice. Congressman Blumenauer's Fruit Cake Enough to make a whole town misty-eyed, this special flavor takes Portland community advocate Rep. Earl Blumenauer's famous fruitcake recipe and folds it into ice cream—Blumenauer himself sampled the attempts right in the Salt & Straw kitchen until it was just right! All proceeds go to Community Cycling Center Holiday Bike Drive, which provides bikes to children for the holidays. But don't be jealous of Beaver State residents. You can have a pack of five pints delivered anywhere in the U.S. for a cool $65 at shop.saltandstraw.com. Happy (tasty) holidays.