On Our Radar: America's Best Hot Dogs

Just in time for the Fourth, Travel and Leisure brings us a round up of America's Best Hot Dogs. Our pick is the Shake Shack dog, especially when eaten at the Mets' Citifield! How do you like your dogs?

Happy Fourth!

Hudson Hall at the Hudson Hotel

Last week, we had the pleasure of dining at Hudson Hall in the revamped Hudson Cafeteria space at New York's Hudson Hotel. The restaurant looks pretty similar to the former Cafeteria, with some communal tables and the same dark wood goth chairs. It's pioneering "modern collegiate mess hall" chic, meaning the food is served old school cafeteria style with self service trays and food options. Lemon drop shots and woo woos are on the menu, hearkening back to the frat parties we went to back in the day.  But that's where the similarities to college end.

The menu, which changes daily, features items like tuna tartar, heirloom spinach salad, Waygu beef sliders, Chilean sea bass and artisinal pizzas. For dessert, there's fresh fruit (cherries on the night we were there), peanut butter pudding and cheesecake. Dorm food was never like this!

There's a video installation (a giant sized TV broken down into sections). Though we're told it's not intended to be a sports bar, the NBA Final game between L.A. and Boston was on the night we were there and we heard that the hotel's many European guests have been watching the World Cup.

Thompson LES Above Allen Opens Up June 9th

The Thompson Lower East Side Hotel's popular night spot, Above Allen, begins its summer hours on June 9th:  Wednesdays to Saturdays 5:00 to 10:00 p.m.  Above Allen will retract is glass roof, making it a truly open-air experience and a fab place to meet friends for happy hour while celebrating the view of the NYC skyline. 


Hotel guests and Above Allen members can access the terrace bar, and non-members can make reservations by emailing AboveAllenReservations@thompsonhotels.com.  You can also show up without reservations; but be prepared to flatter the doorman if you want to get in.  A sexy outfit and great shoes won't hurt either.

Red Light Little River: Miami's Local Dining Lounge

After a few nights in South Beach we were eager to get out and try something that wasn't designed exclusively for the travel set and Red Light Little River did not disappoint. It focuses on seafood with a southern influence. Chef Kris Wessel is a New Orleans native which shows up in many of his dishes.

This blink and you'll miss it restaurant is located at the far end of a funky motel in the MiMo District.  Truthfully, we did pass it by and had to flip a U-turn in front of the girly bar next door.  Though the area is a bit sketchy, we're told it's light years better than it was before Red Light moved in.  The retro diner set up and the house dj made it the perfect Sunday night wind down.

Our favorites were the fish dip (common in Miami and excellent here), the bbq Shrimp which wasn't sweet but more tangy and buttery, the Haitian style oxtail with cheddar grits and collards (lick the plate delicious), and the mixed berry cobler.  The prices were amazingly low:  appetizers were under ten dollars and main courses were under twenty dollars. Since our dinner was less than a round of drinks at Setai, it literally pays to leave South Beach and the bonus was the fantastic food at Red Light.  Our friends, Abby and Amanda with Hope, looking happy afterwards:

Burger King to Serve Beer

One of our favorite things when we travel is to see what specialty items McDonald's has on its menu--a McFalafel in Cairo; McCrab Cake in Maryland and McBeer in Germany. Mind you, we're not eating there--just checking out the diversity.

Well, now, thanks to Burger King, we can get a beer with our fast food burgers stateside. A Whopper Bar is set to open in Miami next month. (There is already one at Universal Orlando Resort.) Even with the temptation of 24 hour service, a toppings bar that includes jalapenos and blue cheese sauce and a can of $4.25 Bud, Miller Lite or Budlight Lime (except between the hours of 5 to 8 a.m.), we doubt we'll make it there on our next Miami trip! But if we do, we'll definitely order a Bud Light Lime--there's nothing like it to cut the burn of salsa and jalapenos!