Is it wrong that the scathing reviews of theme restaurant Ninja New York have done nothing to quench my thirst to be served sake by the half-liter by deadly assassins? Even worse than theme restaurant—anathema to New Yorkers—it’s an old theme restaurant, and supposedly expensive, to (tabi) boot.
But whatever. I can think of at least [...]

Six Feet Under would have many believe that in the basement of every funeral home is a morgue full of dead guys and formaldehyde and putty for rebuilding lost tissue for open casket purposes. Not so, at least in the case of the Ahlgrims Funeral Parlor of Palatine, Illinois—instead, they’ve installed a mini golf [...]

Alex and I had dinner in Manhattan at Yakitori Totto, as recommended by Michael Ruhlman, who called its yakitori offerings the “best chicken ever.” We were able to get seats at the grill without a reservation and walked right down the special selection menu, which included heart, liver, neck, breast bone, gizzards, skin, and [pictured [...]

Despite the machinations of a New York Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, who for some reason didn’t think Bleecker Street should host one of Manhattan’s finest beer bars and stymied the acquisition of a new liquor license, Blind Tiger Ale House will be open to serve beer starting this Thursday. Let us wipe the memories of the [...]

Our friend Quad took a trip to the “World’s Largest Hand-Dug Well” and snapped some great pictures. (This is a view from the bottom looking up.)
When the well was completed in 1888, it was 109 feet deep and 32 feet in diameter. It served as the city’s water supply until 1932. The well was covered [...]

Brett J., who will already has high scores for recommending Peter Capstick’s “Death in the Long Grass” to me, tells us why he thinks Iceland is the secret sweet spot for international jaunts. Brett works for an airline, too, so he gets around.
Iceland [is] one of the coolest, (literally and figuratively) destinations anywhere, a cross [...]

So Xtine and I managed to swing a fabulous deal and are in the midst of a long-overdue and much-needed fling down in Luquillo, Puerto Rico. We did this exact trip last year, because Xtine’s college roomate’s parents do two weeks here every year and they had room for us then as now. It was [...]

“Where the new morality is old hat. You owe it to yourself to see [this NSFW trailer for]… Sweden: Heaven or Hell?”
This 1962 movie sells itself as a documentary of swingin’ ’60s Sweden, full of wife swapping clubs and topless girl rockers, but it isn’t fooling anybody. This is clearly a piece funded by the [...]

Having made two trips to San Francisco in the last few months, I have tried to get to know the town a little better, which means I found the Toronado and never really went anywhere else. I can’t help it. The Toronado is dirty, filled with dozens of West Coast beers on draught, and is [...]

What is this “Nashville Hot Chicken” and why have I not heard of it? Apparently it’s a civic delicacy; a piece of fried chicken, laden with chemical heat, is plopped on top of two slices of white bread. Its cooks are persnickety, guarding recipes and barring photographers from their kitchens.
Speaking of skillets, the pure purveyors [...]

I’m a bad flyer, or at least I used to be. I don’t know when this happened; my first few times in the air were enjoyable experiences. I used to like it! Then, after a long period of years in which I didn’t fly, I unwittingly developed a fear of flight that can only be [...]