Jaunted

Art Travel / Los Angeles / London / London Travel / Paris Travel / Dubai / Geneva / Hong Kong / New York / Exhibitions / → All Tags

Exhibition of Liz Taylor's 'Serious Bling' Currently Roving the Globe

Elizabeth Taylor's jewels, clothes, and art are crisscrossing the globe leading up to their auction at Christie's in December

One of our on the ground London contacts returned from The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor exhibition with the following report: "That woman owned some serious bling."

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Restaurant Week / Cheap NYC / New York / Food Travel / → All Tags

Told Ya So: New York Restaurant Week Extended Through Labor Day

Dear fellow foodies: we have good news and we have awesome news. The good news is that NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2011 has been extended until September 5. The awesome news is that the prices—$24.07 for lunch and $35 for dinner—remain the same, the restaurants are still game all the way through Labor Day, and visitors to the city for the next couple weeks can enjoy the extension on the prix fixe meal deals.

Granted, Restaurant Week has become something more like Restaurant Month the last few times it's been offered, but you're not hearing any complaints from us. In fact, we kind of prefer these extra few weeks because the hype has died down, many diners have exceeded their Restaurant Week budgets already, and thus it's easier grabbing those primo reservations (especially when we're talking top lunches).

To take advantage of Restaurant Month, go here to see what restaurants are taking part in which meals, and even have a glance at the menus. Click through to book on OpenTable.com and check out our previous meal reviews here. We'll see you at the bar...

[Photo: Jaunted]

Snowpocalypse 2010 / Winter Travel / New York Travel / New York / JFK / LHR / Britain Travel / Britain / Airline Industry / Airports / → All Tags

UK Politicians Threaten Massive Fines Against Airports Because of...um...Bad Weather

If you're looking for further verification of our "wow, the Brits are kind of whiny about air travel aren't they" thesis from last week, you need search no further than the Twitter feed of the Economist's New York bureau chief Matthew Bishop. The largest city in the United States was functionally shut down to air travel for a day and what's the biggest new media travel story about JFK? How much Bishop complained when he got stuck on the tarmac for seven hours.

And while that would drive us insane too, you'd think that there would have been at least one prominent New Yorker who complained more than a random British guy, or someone from that Cathay Pacific flight that was stuck on the tarmac for ten hours. Apparently not.

More evidence: in order to placate the (barely) metaphorical mobs of pitchfork wielding Londoners, the British government is coming down hard on Heathrow and other airports. UK Transport Secretary Philip Hammond is threatening massive fines for—and we're going to quote the Daily Mail directly, the better to give you a sense of the British mood—"inflicting misery on passengers."

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Snowpocalypse 2010 / Winter Travel / New York Travel / New York / DCA / IAD / JFK / EWR / LGA / PHL / BOS / Airports / Travel News / Delays / → All Tags

Snowpocalypse! East Coast Blizzard Causes Epic Shutdown

We thought Midwest (not to mention UK) air traffic two weeks ago was a total mess, and that things couldn't get much worse. Turns out we called that putt a little too early. If you're reading this right now, you're not suffering power outages like the 60,000 people in Massachusetts or the 16,000 people in New York or the 2,300 people in Rhode Island or the 40,000 people in Canada. So congratulations on that we suppose.

You're also not reading this from a New York airport, since those have been shut since last night. JFK, EWR, and LGA aren't projected to reopen until 4pm EST today, at which point they will have been offline for about about 24 hours each. That shouldn't be a problem, since it's not like a lot of people live in that region or like this was a weekend where lots of people were vacationing.

Ditto for the wave of airport cancellations that hit all three DC airports, plus Boston, Charlotte, Philadelphia, etc etc. Amtrak between New York and Boston is also shut down, so if you were desperately hoping to get to Logan and take the train into New York—which you probably couldn't do anyway—that won't work either.

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Televison Travel / Mall Travel / Glee / Los Angeles / New York / New Jersey / → All Tags

Fans Of 'Glee' Will Flee To NYC And LA For The Upcoming Mall Tour

The cute cast, catchy tunes and biting one-liners of Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) are making Glee a runaway hit. The show is about Will (Matthew Morrison), a Spanish teacher hoping to bring back the glory of the school's glee club as we follow the drama of the kids in his club and, of course, of his arch nemesis, Sue.

Fanatics of the new Fox comedy, or "Gleeks" as they are known, are finally going to get the chance to not only buy the first volume of music from the show, but also see the cast live at mall appearances in New York, New Jersey and California.

Where to get your Glee on, after the jump.

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Food Festivals / Food Travel / Labor Day Travel / New York / → All Tags

Spend Labor Day Feasting At The Annual National Buffalo Wing Festival

Another Labor Day, another annual National Buffalo Wing Festival. The Buffalo, NY event stretches back to 1992, when Wing King Drew Cerza was inspired to start it by Bill Murray's junk food addicted character in "Osmosis Jones." Over the years, it's grown from a small competitive eating spectacle to a full-blown convention--hosting over 400,000 total people, generating over $125,000 for New York charities, and even serving as the site of a wedding.

This year's gala promises to build on last year's gigantic festival, where more than 78,000 people consumed over 27 tons of wings.

Buffalo Wing Festival organizers are fond of describing the spectrum of sauces as stretching from the mild to the suicidal, with dozens upon dozens of stands serving their specialties. The "Official Wing Sauce of the National Buffalo Wing Festival," Frank's RedHot, will be given away from a booth at the festival. There are also a variety of eating contests, including one that involves bobbing for chicken wings in a vat of blue cheese.

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Jaunted On Location / Hamptons Travel / New York / Royal Pains / Television Travel / → All Tags

'Royal Pains' Is At Home in The Hamptons

Today in what's filming in the Hamptons, we find the new USA Series Royal Pains shooting on Snake Hollow Rd in Bridgehampton, NY. The show, about a recently laid off physician (Dr. Hank played by Mark Feuerstein) who, after spending a weekend in the Hamptons with his brother, becomes a concierge doctor to the wealthy,should provide a nice adult alternative to the teen drama of the Hamptons seen on Gossip Girl.

The Hamptons will play a large role in the series, which isn’t afraid to incorporate the community’s sometimes over-the-top, decadent way of life into its story lines. The show also touts Hamptons life on its website, which features a Travel Guide & Map of the Hamptons, a glossary of Hamptonese, and a Hamptons Insider Guide.

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Brunch / Breakfast / Restaurants / Food Travel / Drugs / What Recession / Meatpacking District / New York / → All Tags

French Toast, Champagne, and Rosé-filled Flamingo Bongs: Brunch Gets Naughty in Manhattan

I'm a huge fan of breakfast, but for some reason, brunch has never done it for me. It just seems like such a wishy-washy compromise between breakfast and lunch, where neither an omelet or a salad seems quite right, and the brief euphoria of the Bellini that's included in the prix fixe soon gives way to a sense of exhaustion that lasts the rest of the day. But maybe I'm just not doing it right. The New York Times has a pretty wild story today about the rise of brunch as an intense daytime party for New York's beautiful people. In other words, my problem isn't drinking that one Bellini, it's not drinking five more.

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Brunch / New York / Food Travel / → All Tags

New York's Best Recession-Friendly Brunch is All-You-Can-Drink

Nothing washes down a hearty plate of eggs benedict better than a pitcher-full of free mimosas. If it were possible to make this a mantra, then the all-you-can-drink brunch at Nero in New York's Meatpacking District would have it covered with their recession-friendly brunch and lunch menus.

Located on one of the heavily-trafficked cobblestone corners of this area just south and west of Chelsea, Nero stands up to neighbors Hotel Gansevoort and Pastis with their offering of free-flowing cocktails through the late weekend mornings; $24.95 yields your choice of main course (like our favorites, the brioche french toast and portabello panino) and constant refills of champagne, bellinis, mimosas, Bloody Marys or screwdrivers. This is in direct competition to Pastis, the breakfast place across the intersection once immortalized in Sex and the City, but still overpriced and with a decidedly anti-free alcohol brunch cocktail policy.

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Fashion Travel / New York / American Express / → All Tags

Flash Your AMEX for New York Fashion Week

Think having an American Express Gold, Platinum or Centurion card is only good for large spending limits and getting you into first class airport lounges? Think again; it'll go so far as getting you behind the scenes and at the runway during next month's New York Fashion Week.

The past few Fashion Weeks have flirted with the concept of letting the curious buy their way into the shows, but maintained the industry mystique by keeping the cardholders hidden away behind darkened glass in the "AMEX Skybox." This year, however, the economy is showing designers that these eager fashion fiends are worth their weight in gold. Already, Diane von Furstenberg has announced that she will stage a second entire show for the benefit of AMEX paid guests, which will include the added bonus of a discussion between the designer and Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley,

Packages for shows, occasional backstage glimpses, and entrance to the AMEX lounge cost $150, which is reasonable considering what some starry-eyed girls do to get regular access. New York Fashion Week runs from February 13-20, a time when the city lights up at night with exclusive parties and boutique openings. It's an ideal time to visit the Big Apple if you don't mind high hotel rates and brunching next to Japanese trendspotters. Get the coveted show tickets, however, before they go out of style.

Related Stories:
· Diane von Furstenberg to Stage VIP Show for American Express [WSJ]
· Fashion Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: FabSugar/Getty]

New Year's Eve / New York / → All Tags

New Year's Eve Travel: Dropping the Ball (and the Drag Queen)

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the famous Times Square New Year's Eve Ball, and to mark the occasion, the folks at Waterford Crystal have seriously juiced up their famous sphere. The new ball, which will replace the one that's been used since the millennium celebration, will be twice as bright and have "enhanced color capabilities and state-of-the-art LED lighting effects."

Yup, its gonna be shiny and high-tech and probably way cooler than the old model but its still, well... just a ball. And if you ask the tourists committed enough to spend their night packed into cattle pens to watch it drop, it's a ball that you can barely see.

Far cooler and way kitschier, we think, then adding one more body to the frenzy in Times Square, would be to ring in the 2008 at one of the unique "dropping ceremonies" in smaller cities across the country.

Hook up with the locals in Flagstaff, Arizona and watch as they send a 70-pound silver pinecone down the flagpole. Or hang with the folks in Mount Olive, North Carolina as their massive dill takes a plunge into a pickle tank. Our favorite just might be the Key West celebration, during which organizers drop a six-foot, red, high-heeled shoe filled with a drag queen named Sushi.

Other weird objects used to mark the passage of time include a crab (Easton, Maryland), a mossbunker fish (Point Pleasant, New Jersey), a sausage (Ellmore, Ohio) and a wrench (Mechanicsberg, Pensylvania).

If you're set on seeing the ball drop in Manhattan, we understand. Just head to Little Times Square in Manhattan, Kansas to catch the aluminum apple make its run down the flagpole. It may not be as impressive at the original, but we guarantee it's heaps more energy efficient.

Related Stories:
· Times Square Ball Drop [Official Site]
· Flagstaff Pinecone Drop [AZ Republic]
· New Year's Eve coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: kaydee did]

New York / Breaking News / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags

Breaking News: Plane Crashes into Building on the Upper East Side

If you haven't already heard, a plane has crashed into the Beldaire Building on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Details are still forthcoming about what type of plane and how it crashed but it is confirmed that there are residents and workers trapped inside. Heavy debris has also been reported falling from the building. However, this does not appear to be an act of terrorism. (Yet we think it's freaky that it happened today on 10/11.)

Our one hotel tip: If by chance you are staying in a hotel on the Upper East, getting back to your hotel room or out of it will be pretty hard as the streets are closed off near the crash. So check in with your hotel's front desk about what they are doing to assist guests. Also visit Gothamist and CNN for more information on the crash and how it's affecting the surrounding area.