Willie Sierra, a bellman at the Mandarin Oriental New York($$$$), shows us how to flag down a cab like a real New Yawker.
• Step off the curb and extend your arm. It’s the best way to claim your corner. If the medallion number on the roof of the cab is lit up, it’s available.
• Need a ride to the airport? Flap your arms like a bird. Pedestrians may stare, but hacks will get the message.
• If you want a quick lift, make a “C” with your thumb and index finger—it means you’re looking for a “shorty.” You may even get an off-duty driver to pull over.
• Tell the driver your destination after you get in and just give an intersection (only tourists name an exact address).
Marguerite A. Suozzi is an associate research editor at Travel + Leisure.
You’ve got lemon wedges, beer, and a table of freshly steamed, seasoned crustaceans. Now what? Bill Breaux, owner of waterside restaurant Schooners($$$), a favorite in Oxford, Maryland, shares his tried-and-true method.
1. Place crab belly-side up. Twist legs off at base; set aside. With a paring knife, pull back tab-shaped “apron” at its narrow end.
2. Pick up crab with apron pointing up; using thumbs, pull off top shell and discard. Scrape away gills and other inedible contents.
3. Insert thumbs into center cavity and break body in half. Split each half in two again. Extract the meat and eat.
4. Split claws at joints. Place knife on top of claw and tap with mallet to crack claw. Break apart with fingers and pull out the meat.
5. Separate legs at joints and squeeze each section like a tube of toothpaste to withdraw more meat. Still hungry? Give up and order crab cakes.
Superstorm Sandy and her little sister Athena recently wreaked havoc across the northeast, including on the bay-facing boardwalk of Atlantic City, but that hasn't deterred the East Coast's Las Vegas from unveiling its latest initiative, ARTLANTIC, a five-year multi-phase public art project that is overtaking large, abandoned lots of leased land along the boardwalk and converting them into open green spaces and impressive public art installations.
Does your beach cover-up never seem to stay on? Designer Milo Migliavacca—whose batik-print silk wraps are sold at the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay—shows how to do it right.
1. Hold unfolded sarong behind your back, leaving excess fabric on left side. Fold right side to middle of waist.
2. Wrap left side across your waist, pulling up the right edge. Continue wrapping around the torso.
3. Switch grips, and tie ends together in a simple double knot at the right hip.
4. Tuck knot and ends into waist and smooth out. Sarong should hang flat and reach below ankles.
Marguerite A. Suozzi is an associate research editor at Travel + Leisure.
Starting at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, expect a line–a very long line–out the door at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and learn to deal with it; it’ll be a fixture on the West 53rd streetscape for a while.
For the next six months, MoMA is hosting an exhibition dedicated to the work of Norwegian Symbolist painter Edvard Munch whose iconic portrait, The Scream (1895) the show's centerpiece, and a lucid depiction of modern existential angst, is on display in a single gallery on the fifth floor, alongside other works from the same period gathered from the museum's permanent holdings.
Members of the band, from left: Ed Droste, Chris Bear, Chris Taylor and Daniel Rossen
Ed Droste—front man of the Brooklyn-based indie-rock band Grizzly Bear, whose long-awaited fourth album Shieldscomes out on September 18—reflects on some of his favorite destinations and findings from around the world.
Q: It’s been three years since the band’s last album, what can we expect from Shields? A: It’s charged, and sort of raw, energetic and exposed. I started out work shopping ideas in Todos Santos, Mexico with our drummer Chris Bear. We often go on little writing retreats together. We went there for a month and wrote ten songs, then the whole band reconvened in Marfa, Texas for a month to start recording.
Inter Ikea, the parent company of the Swedish budget furniture store, is planning to enter the boutique hotel market. The group is currently scouting out locations in Europe and plans to open 100 budget design hotels over the next few years, starting with two in Germany in 2014. While the hotels won't carry the brand's furniture or name, they will maintain the brand's populist appeal, selling high-concept design at a low cost. Read more about the venture here.
Marguerite A. Suozzi is an assistant research editor at Travel + Leisure.
"Whaaaaaaaaaat?" That's what I said to myself after reading this piece by Gizmodo who reported via the Transportation Security Administration's blog, that since January 1st, TSA agents have discovered 821 firearms in carry-on bags at airports around the country. Of these, 691 were loaded, and 210 were locked and loaded with a round chambered. Some other bizarrely alarming weapons discovered while passengers were filing through security? Dead venomous snakes (snakes almost on a plane!), a gun in a hollowed out book (retro move there), an explosive grenade, a spear gun, eels, a gassed-up chainsaw, and a chastity belt. Too weird, America. But keep up the good work TSA! And in the future, before you confiscate that sealed bottle of Poland Spring in my backpack, can we just put a few things in perspective?
Marguerite A. Suozzi is an assistant research editor at Travel + Leisure.
In 1908-9, art collector and explorer, Sterling Clark, and naturalist, Arthur deCarle Sowerby, spent 17 months caravanning across Northern China. With a team of scientists and specialists, the explorers were on a mission to collect artifacts and biological material from a territory that until then remained a blank spot for scientific inquiry on the world map. The rich findings of their odyssey have given rise to three exhibitions at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and one at the Explorers Club in New York City.
Through Shên-Kan: Sterling Clark in China (until Sept. 16), documents the crossing through China–preserved animals discovered during the trek, photographs, equipment, and paperwork from the journey are on loan from the Smithsonian and gathered from the Clark’s own collection—much of which have never before been seen by the public.
Olympic style has improved exponentially since the days of ankle length tennis skirts, barely there basketball shorts, and that loud, tie-dye Grateful Dead getup from 1992.
Today we're seeing scientific designs in the form of aerodynamic apparel made with performance enhancing fabrics for everything from cycling to the long-jump. And lately, international fashion powerhouses have been collaborating with teams to dress athletes in competition and at rest, while others are stitching Olympic-inspired duds for the less athletically inclined.
The ubiquitous Karl Lagerfeld is hawking a limited edition line for a pop-up shop at Selfridges, the quintessential British department store on Oxford St., while ultra-hip boutique Opening Ceremony has opened one in fashion-conscious Covent Garden, with prêt-à-porter pieces created with the games in mind.
Plenty of London 2012 athletes will be dressed to the nines as well: Team USA will be wearing Ralph Lauren for what will be the third time at the games this year. The garments have already caused quite a stir for being made in China.
The Italians will be the heavyweights of luxury uniform design however. Prada has sponsored the Italian sailing team while Salvatore Ferragamo designed the formal wear for the Republic of San Marino and Ermanno Scervino created a colorful kit for the Republic of Azerbaijan. EA7, Armani’s sportswear line is providing both formal and sporting attire for the entire Italian team, including uniform jackets with the words of "Il Canto degli Italiani," the country's national anthem, embroidered inside the jacket.
Hosting Team GB will be kitted out in Stella McCartney, who collaborated with Adidas on the project. The event gear features deconstructed Union Jacks and are made with high-tech PowerWEB and ClimaCool fabrics. The final product is rather sleek, which is more than I can say for the approximately 8000 volunteer London ambassadors who will be wearing grotesque pink and mauve tracksuits around town. Eek.
Hermès is providing a blue riding jacket with red lapels for the French equestrian team, and Japanese athletes will be outfitted in local fabrics by the iconic national department store, Takashimaya. The Jamaican track and field team, led by world record holder Usain Bolt, will be sporting second-skins by Cedella Marley (daughter of Bob) developed in collaboration with Puma, and will likely be on the podium again this year with a slew of medals in tow.
Not all the designers will go home winners though (some athletes will look like flight attendants, while other outfits will just leave you scratching your head). But I think I'll leave you with a few surprises for the Opening Ceremony tomorrow. Let the games begin!
Marguerite A. Suozzi is an assistant research editor at Travel + Leisure.
Photos courtesy of Ralph Lauren; Adidas; Japan Olympic Committee.
"Whaaaaaaaaaat?" That's what I said to myself after reading 
