Category Archives: Reviews

Newly Renovated Resorts: Desert Hot Springs’ “Two Bunch Palms” – Carbon Neutral Rejuvenation

From a Design Milk online article:

Two Bunch Palms Mineral WatersTwo Bunch Palms mineral springs flow up from Miracle Hill, a 600 year old source bubbling from under the surface and flowing hot directly into the resort’s pool. Ecological considerations also extend to the hotel using its very own solar field array, earning Two Bunch Palms the status of being the first carbon-neutral resort in America.

Studio MAI, the firm responsible for designing the popular Venice restaurant mainstay, Gjelina, remained cognizant and careful to retain the resort’s storied “quirkiness and authenticity” while adding enough colors, textures, and modern motifs in acknowledgement of the new generation descending into the region drawn by the desert’s charms. The resulting makeover feels fresh without cloyingly contemporary, retaining a textural charm that has mostly abandoned nearby Palm Springs.

To read more click the following link: https://design-milk.com/mineral-springs-modernity-bubbles-anew-at-the-two-bunch-palms/

Top New Restaurants: Selby’s In Atherton, CA Boasts Top Chef, Old Hollywood Style

From an SFChronicle.com online article:

Selby's Restaurant Black Label Burger“I was really focused on the idea of a burger, but taking it to the next level in terms of quality and flavor. I wanted to make it this kind of luxurious dining experience,” said Sullivan.

He’s already made a name for himself at the Bacchus Management Group’s sister restaurants in San Francisco, Spruce and the Saratoga, both known for their burgers, which cost $21 and $16, respectively.

Selby’s, a swanky new Silicon Valley restaurant styled after Old Hollywood, opened Tuesday near the Atherton border at 3001 El Camino Real…

…The Black Label Burger took chef Mark Sullivan six months to develop. Each order includes roughly 5 ounces of shaved Australian black truffles.

To read more click on following link: https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/New-Silicon-Valley-restaurant-opens-with-50-14120219.php?psid=effhg

Boomers Health Tips: Kaiser Health News And NPR Team Up To Explain Confusing Medical Bills

From a Kaiser Health News article:

In 2018 Kaiser Health News and NPR teamed up to create “Bill of the Month,” a crowdsourced investigative series in which we dissect and explain medical bills you send us. We have received nearly 2,000 submissions of outrageous and confusing medical bills from across the country.

Bill of the Month Video
Click link below to watch video

https://khn.org/news/your-go-to-guide-to-decode-medical-bills/

Each month we select one bill to thoroughly investigate, often resulting in the bill being resolved soon after the story is published. But what about the large number of Americans who receive surprise medical bills that reporters can’t examine?

NPR Kaiser Sample Hospital Bill 2019

Future Trends In Travel: Blacksford Rents “Fully Outfitted”, Luxury Camper Vans In Montana And Utah

From a Curbed.com online article:

Blacksford Camper Van Rentals In BozemanBlacksford specializes in rentals exclusively from Winnebago, only renting out the Winnebago Revel and the Winnebago View. The Revel is a go-anywhere adventure van that sleeps two, built on the 4×4 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis and with plenty of off-road capabilities to get you where you want to be. The View is a more luxurious RV for couples and families, with more space due to its Class C size.

All of Blacksford’s rentals are one year or less old with fever than 50,000 miles, ensuring that you’ll be vacationing in an almost brand-new model.

https://www.blacksford.com/

To read more click on following link: https://www.curbed.com/2019/7/23/20686870/winnebago-rv-rental-camper-van-for-rent-blacksford

Top Exhibitions: “N.C. Wyeth – New Perspectives” At Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford, PA

From a Wall Street Journal article by Edward Rothstein:

Brandywine River Museum of Art Wyeth Exhibit The Lobsterman 1944 Metropolitan Museum of ArtIn some cases, Wyeth’s images bore into memory as sharply as the books they illuminate. I’m thankful I never saw Wyeth’s “Captain Nemo” (1918) while steeping myself in Jules Verne’s “The Mysterious Island” (1874): I would never have been able to shed the image Wyeth created of this white-haired, secretive, dying man, surrounded by allusions to his exotic past, his skin seeming bleached, we learn here, by the electrical lighting of his submarine.

 

This is the first retrospective Wyeth has received in a generation, and it may be unfair to begin an account of it with the illustrations that made him a commercial success, for they also haunted him as he struggled to free himself from his reputation as an illustrator— a struggle that ultimately involved his relationship with his more
artistically celebrated son, Andrew, and his attempts to both accommodate and bypass modernist taste. But you can see how they could have had that impact. This show—jointly created with Maine’s Portland Museum of Art, and curated by Christine B. Podmaniczky from the Brandywine and Jessica May from the Portland—pays tribute
to the illustrations’ power and notes, too, that Wyeth often cut his artistic cloth to suit the demands of magazine editors, advertising agencies and bank-building mural planners.

Top Foodie Destinations: “Unparalleled Quality” At “Mercado Little Spain” In Hudson Yards, NYC

From New York Times article by Pete Wells:

Mercado Little SpainUnlike its European models or even local markets like Eataly and Le District, Mercado Little Spain is not set up to provide the ingredients for tonight’s dinner. What it is useful for is on-the-spot eating of almost unparalleled quality.

I was well into my fifth meal in the complex before I came across a dish I didn’t really like; as a general rule, everything is good, which is not something restaurant critics are in the habit of saying. After eating twice in each of its three sit-down restaurants and stitching together another half-dozen meals out of items sold individually at the bars, kiosks and so on, I’m ready to declare that Mercado Little Spain offers more delicious things to eat per square foot than anywhere else in New York.

https://www.littlespain.com/

To read more click on following link: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/23/dining/mercado-little-spain-review-pete-wells.html

New Camping Websites: “Tentrr.com” Provides Fully Equipped Campsites On Private Land Locations

From a Travel and Leisure online article:

Tentrr.com Camping SitesTentrr is a new site that’s hoping to take the unknown factor out of glamping while providing campers with exclusive access to locations across the U.S. — many of which are totally remote. Tentrr partners with private landowners to install a fully equipped campsite on their property. Every Tentrr Signature Campsite has a sturdy canvas tent on an elevated platform, bed, wood stove, Adirondack chairs, fire pit, grill, picnic table, sun shower, and camp toilet.

Glamping has filled a void for adventurous travelers who don’t want to brave the wild in a nylon tent, but still want to experience nature away from RVs and packed campgrounds. But as with most new things, the quality and experience of glamping can vary, with guests often unsure of what to expect.

To read more click on following link: https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/tentrr-glamping?cid=407867&did=407867-20190722&mid=22947635458&utm_campaign=just-in_newsletter&utm_content=072219&utm_medium=email&utm_source=travelandleisure.com

 

Top Summer Destinations: Laguna Beach Festival Of Arts Celebrates 87th Year

From an Orange County Register article:

IMG_4711The Pageant of the Masters was first developed in the 1930s to combine music, storytelling and theatrical illusions to celebrate artistic interpretation and history. It has since become a Laguna Beach tradition drawing visitors from around the world. This year’s show, which opens Sunday, July 7, and runs through Aug. 31, marks the pageant’s 86th year. Continue reading Top Summer Destinations: Laguna Beach Festival Of Arts Celebrates 87th Year

Boomers Home Income : “RentTheBackyard.com” Will Build & Rent Studio Apartment For You

From a TechCrunch.com online article:

RentTheBackyard LogoRent the Backyard  works with a partner to build the apartment, finances the construction, lists the property, selects the tenant, collects the rent and serves as the landlord. In exchange for all that, it has an ownership stake in the unit and keeps 50% of the rent.

The startup also handles the permitting, which co-founder Spencer Burleigh said has become much easier with recent changes in California law. In fact, he pointed to stories about how these changes have led to skyrocketing applications (16 in 2016, 350 in 2018) to build “in-law” units in San Jose, which is where the startup is focused for now.

To read more click on following link: https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/18/rent-the-backyard/?utm_medium=TCnewsletter&tpcc=TCdailynewsletter

RentTheBackyard Online apartments diagram

Top Roadside Restaurants: “B.T.’s Smokehouse” In Sturbridge, Mass. Is “Astonishlingly Good”

From a Bon Appétit Magazine article  by Amanda Shapiro:

B.T.'s Smokehouse logoWhile it may be unassuming, B.T.’s is hardly undiscovered. The lines get long, so time your trip to hit the smokehouse when it opens at 11 a.m. or during the late-afternoon lull. Order your meat to go, grab a beer at the convenience store next door, and park yourself on the hood of your car, the curb, or anywhere you can find a spot. It isn’t glamorous, but it is astonishingly good.

Situated between I-84 and I-90, B.T.’s is an ideal pit stop for any drive that takes you up to (or down from) Boston, New Hampshire, or Maine. Brisket is the thing here—smoked for 24 to 30 hours on local apple and hickory wood. You can order it à la carte, in a Reuben-style sandwich, or—my favorite—on a platter with classic sides like collard greens and mac and cheese.

To read more from article click on following link: https://www.bonappetit.com/story/bts-smokehouse-sturbridge-massachusetts

B.T.'s Smokehouse
https://www.btsmokehouse.com/

B.T.'s Smokehouse Brisket Rueben