After reinventing his menu for Paris restaurant Vivant Table, chef Pierre Jancou has opened the wine bar offshoot to complement his cuisine. Vivant Cave’s menu is dominated by charcuterie and cheese but the few hot plates are typical to the house style: extremely simple with the highest-quality ingredients.
Plates include marinated grilled artichokes, chicken stew with al-dente pasta, and bonito with bouillon and micro root vegetables. A list of funky, all natural wines pair well with Jancou’s basic menu.
Maria Pedone is a digital editorial intern at Travel + Leisure.
This summer, Ritz-Carlton guests will have more to look forward to than just sunbathing. The luxury hotel company will expand its ecological program, Ambassadors of the Environment, to three of its properties. The program, created by award-winning environmentalist Jean-Michel Cousteau, emphasizes education and sustainability through various Caribbean eco-adventures.
Top Chef finalist, Pierre Sang Boyer, has finally settled down in the Oberkampf area of Paris after a number of pop-up restaurants. The Korean, French-raised chef offers a fixed menu at his eponymous Pierre Sang Restaurant.
Original course combinations include tempura of andoilette with tuna sashimi, roast-suckling pig with pumpkin puree, and a moelleux of chocolate with wasabi and Armagnac foam. The restaurant is first come, first serve with no reservations or telephone, so plan to beat the 1 o’clock lunch crowd for less waiting and more munching.
Maria Pedone is a digital editorial intern at Travel + Leisure.
Choosing where to eat while abroad, even in the sure-shot restaurants across Italy, can be tough. Cafés close early and locations near landmarks are all too crowded with tourists. Luckily, we now have three new restaurants that fit the bill.
Garnering consensus in Rome is Sanacafe', a cafe and restaurant open from 8 AM to midnight, seven days a week. This airy, designer-led space sources organic and biodynamic ingredients – some of which are on sale. For breakfast, choose from blended fruit and vegetable juices, yogurt, homemade cornetti and cakes; at lunchtime there are salads, vegetarian menus and home made ice cream; in the evening, the menu features local, creative cuisine: pecorino, pear and black pepper tart; chocolate mousse with salt crystals. Centrally-located in the Prati district, check this café out on Via Pompeo Magno.
Also worth investigating in Rome is La Caffetteria di Fandango Incontro, a cafe, bar and meeting point on the second floor of the publicly owned, 18th century Palazzo Incontro, which is also home to a bookshop, cinema, exhibition space and theatre workshop. Furnished mostly in wood and white, and dotted with plants, the bar is a great place for breakfast, light lunches and aperitifs – with an intellectual air. There is also a good selection of wines.
For those knocking landmarks off their list, try Baccano, a new multi-functional restaurant close to the Trevi Fountain, serving breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. Think 1950's Parisian (dark wood, mosaics, antique ceiling fans) for the atmosphere, but the menu is strictly Italian. You'll find all the classics here – from spaghetti alla carbonara to ossobuco, A good selection of artisanal beers and wines accompany the traditional fare.
Maria Pedone is a digital editorial intern at Travel + Leisure.
Oftentimes, we as travellers trust big name brands for our accommodations abroad. We believe that if a company has a reputation to uphold, they will provide with timeless and impeccable service. But sometimes, having a mom-and-pop feel to a hotel is what really makes a guestroom feel like your room.
Villa Sagramoso Sacchetti in Verona, for example, is a family-owned, historic villa packed with heirloom antiques, which opened recently in the countryside about ten kilometers from town. The property is the former home of two aristocratic sisters who now run the place and personally welcome guests with fruit juice, drinks and tourist information on arrival.
The sprawling grounds include a small outdoor pool and frescoed reception rooms. A fresh breakfast is provided with local produce in the antiques-packed dining hall. The sisters are again on hand, personally serving breakfast to their guests. Rooms are spacious, affordable, and simple- meaning there are no flat screen televisions or minibars to distract you from Verona’s gorgeous scenery.
Maria Pedone is a digital editorial intern at Travel + Leisure.
Upscale Paris hotel, the Sofitel Le Faubourg, is now catering to its epicurean guests. The hotel’s restaurant re-launched as Les Collections after a take over by Japanese chef Keigo Kimura. Chic, art deco Pierre-Yves Rochon décor adorn the interior and expansive terrace.
Chef Kimura’s menu aims for sophistication without being overly fussy. Entrees include cool crabmeat with broccoli custard and fresh herbs, and roasted monkfish served in a shellfish bouillon with blanched baby vegetables.
Les Collections’ posh appearance coincides flawlessly with the Sofitel chain, making it a popular escape for France’s business crowd.
Maria Pedone is a digital editorial intern at Travel + Leisure.
Birds of every feather appear on the rotisserie at new Parisian restaurant Le Coq Rico. Casseroles are filled with the roasted meat, from classic chicken to doves, pigeons, and game birds. Heaping cones of French fries and shallot green salads accompany the crop.
Maria Pedone is a digital editorial intern at Travel + Leisure.
Photo courtesy of Le Coq Rico / Anthony de Anfrasio & Patricia Westermann
Exactly 40 years ago on April 4, 1973, the original World Trade Center opened in New York City’s financial district. Now, with construction of One World Trade Center to be completed in 2014, the first views from its panoramic observation deck have been revealed.
The observatory, which will occupy floors 100 through 102 of the tower, will feature 360-degree views. Just one stroll around the deck offers sights of the entire island of Manhattan, Brooklyn, New York and New Jersey ports, and Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Not bad for the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
As Randy Levine of Legends Hospitality, the company that will run the observatory, said, the tower will “fit the grandeur and the stature of what this [building] is about…[it] means moving forward without ever forgetting…the days of 9/11.”
The 1,776-ft. high observatory will be open to the public in 2015. While ticket prices are not set, discounts to local school and community groups will be available.
Maria Pedone is a digital editorial intern at Travel + Leisure.
Would you drop out of an Ivy League university for chocolate? Former University of Pennsylvania undergrad, David "Mott" Green did.
Originally from New York City, Mott left Penn to pursue a more altruistic (and sunny) lifestyle in Hermitage, Grenada. After noticing how exploitive the chocolate industry was on the island, he thought, Why don’t cocoa farmers produce the chocolate themselves? Since then, Mott has spent the last 25 years operating the bean-to-bar Grenada Chocolate Company. His efforts to bring Grenadian citizens back into agriculture have helped create a sustainable alternative to the harsh chocolate industry.
Ditching the classroom to eat, live, and breathe chocolate? Sounds like the sweet life to us!
EX-PATS is the Reserve Channel's YouTube series. To watch full episodes, click here.
Maria Pedone is a digital editorial intern at Travel + Leisure.
Walking through the stone pews of the Colosseum or admiring the statues atop the Trevi Fountain offers a glimpse into European history. These are cultural landmarks to be preserved and treasured. Outstanding architecture such as this is one reason for the bi-annual ‘Florens’ conference on culture and travel in Italy.
Programmed in Florence, the 'Florens' conference aims to promote the philosophy that economic growth is firmly based on the revitalization of culture. Though rather theoretical in nature, the conference explores the difficulties of preserving landscapes and cultural heritage in Italy. Development possiblities in food tourism, theatre, opera, and museum management are discussed.
Speakers and round-table participants include chef Massimo Bottura, television personality and natural history expert Piero Angela, anthropologist Suzanne Fish and Ferruccio Ferragamo of Salvatore Ferragamo. There are about 40 events and 350 speakers in all. Check out this article to read more about preserving Europe’s landmarks.
Maria Pedone is a digital editorial intern at Travel + Leisure.
