Spring To Bring Amtrak Internet Service

Many a traveler has been waiting, praying for the day when our only train company will add Internet access. It appears that day is coming soon. According to a January 11 Amtrak announcement, March will bring the deployment of WiFi on Amtrak, on the Acela Express.

The high-speed version of the East Coast regional (local) train [...]

P.F. Chang’s Takes On AmericaWhat: Unilever and the Chinese restaurant chain link up to offer frozen entrees across America.

The Dirt: P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and Unilever have entered an exclusive licensing agreement to develop a line of frozen Asian entrées for the U.S., under the P.F. Chang’s brand. The terms of the agreement were not revealed.
The move is not a new one for Unilever, who launched the Bertolli Frozen Italian Skillet [...]

Vodka 2.0 What: An old name in the vodka business, Smirnoff continues to create new options for purveyors of that age old liquor.

The Dirt:
Any seasoned drinker knows all vodkas are not created equal. While we are usually accustomed to the standard Russian and Polish varieties, multiple-times distilled and without additional flavors, we decided to give Smirnoff Pomegranate a chance.
After years of sticking with plain varieties geared at the luxury crowd, we gave Smirnoff a real shot and [...]

Berlin on a BudgetWhat: A new hotel brand emerges, offering reasonably priced accommodations in one of Europe’s most cultural cities.

The Dirt:Once a divided city, Berlin is now home to a great film festival, a huge art scene and a great selection of hip hotels. Enter Michelberger Hotel, an 119-room hostel-cum-hotel located near Oberbaum Bridge, set to open in September 2009. Named after its proprietor, Tom Michelberger, the hotel caters to artsy globetrotting travelers. This [...]

Hotel By The City & The Sea What: W Hotels aims to make its upcoming Spanish W opening its flagship property for Western Europe.

The Dirt:
Starwood Hotels is forging ahead with growth, recession or not, with big plans for one of Europe’s most cultural cities on the Mediterranean. Anyone that doubts Barcelona likely hasn’t been. Barcelona has an amazing soccer team, FC Barcelona, art from legends Gaudi, Picasso and Joan Miro, great dining, fabulous clubs, a beach on [...]

The Hipster Haven What: San Francisco’s hipster haven is The Mission, originally only a Latino neighborhood, but now also home to artists and entrepreneurs enjoying great street art, wonderful cafes and progressive bookstores.

The Dirt:
Women clad in skinny jeans, artsy tops and gladiator sandals, puffing on fags, and delighting in their spot in the hipster circle—this could be many neighborhoods. This week, we spotted them in The Mission neighborhood of San Francisco. When exiting the MUNI bus on Mission Street, one gets a feel for the area’s original [...]

Exotic Home Scents What: Go global with two fabulous candle and home fragrance companies with creative scents.

The Dirt: Though candles are the ultimate in ambience, some brands offer decorations and home fragrance options in one item. Seda France is our new obsession, partially for the fabulous packaging. When we sought out Seda, we were impressed by the many options, but we settled on Taj and Bouganville Sapote. Taj comes packaged in [...]

SFO Ramps Up Eco Initiative What: San Francisco International Airport adds an eco element to car rentals as part of its green program.

The Dirt: How many airports have bamboo trees growing inside? It’s not surprising to hear that such trees are growing inside the airy open edifice that is San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Neither is it surprising that the airport has added a green element to its car rental operations. In the New Year, SFO announced [...]

Queens: A Global Village What: From China and South Korea, to India and the Philippines, the 7 subway line will take you through the entire Eastern hemisphere.

The Dirt: An international journey without flight is possible for tri-state area residents willing to experience the exotic.
CHINARide the 7 subway line all the way from Manhattan to Flushing and check out the Chinese bakeries. Try bubble tea (tapioca pearls) in one of our favorite flavors, honeydew, almond or taro (a root vegetable), and [...]

Easy Exotic CocktailsWhat: A vodka company and a drink mixers company help make you a bartender extraordinaire, sans serious sugar.

The Dirt:
Massachusetts drink company Mixerz is the upscale, healthy alternative to the sugar-heavy cocktail mixers of the past. Throw all your sour mix and bloody mary mixes out the window, because Mixerz has options for everyone, and they use cane sugar to sweeten! The collection ranges from bloody mary mix to lemoncello to one of [...]

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