Susan Manlin Katzman | Sweet Leisure

HAPPY HOUR: UNION 30’S COMFORTABLY NUMB

So here is the way I was told to drink the Comfortably Numb cocktail served at Union 30, a restaurant located inside the smashing Hotel Saint Louis. See that little bud sitting in a white dish at the side of the drink? It’s a Szechuan button flower. I was told to eat the button and […]

DIVA DIAMOND MUSEUM, ANTWERP BELGIUM

Prepare for sparkle. Prepare for shine. Prepare for scandalous stories of courtesans and opera singers and movie stars. Prepare to be educated and entertained. Prepare for DIVA, a museum dedicated to diamonds, silver and other dazzling objects that opened in Antwerp, Belgium, in May, 2018. Located in Antwerp’s historic city center, DIVA has already emerged […]

¶ Posted 10 January 2019 § ANTWERP § BELGIUM § MUSEUMS § SHOPPING § TRAVEL ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: Antwerp, Belgium, Diamonds, DIVA, Gemstones

THE SPIRITS OF GULF SHORES & ORANGE BEACH ALABAMA

Beer? Okay. Wine? Fine. Cocktails? Now you’re talking. Although beer and wine may float your boat, cocktails best capture the free-wheeling beach spirit of Gulf Coast Alabama. The coastal cup runneth over with bars and restaurants serving a staggering array of house-speciality cocktails, and although many raise the bar of pleasure, I’ll tell you about […]

¶ Posted 15 November 2018 § ALABAMA § BARS § BEACH § BEVERAGES § COCKTAILS § GULF SHORES § ORANGE BEACH ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: Alabama, Bushwacker, Fisher's at Orange Beach Marina, Gulf Shores, Loopy Lu, Lulu's Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Queen's Dowery, Specialty cocktails, Sunliner Diner

HOTEL LUTETIA ADDS SPARKLE TO THE CITY OF LIGHTS

Spoiled as it sounds, I would try to plan a trip to Paris every year on my birthday, so that I would look forward to aging. Now that I have ripened with multiple years of Paris pleasure I still crave the city. It just gets better and better. The same could apply to Hotel Lutetia, […]

¶ Posted 13 October 2018 § ACCOMMODATIONS § ART § BEVERAGES § COCKTAILS § DRINKS § ENTREES § FRANCE § PARIS § RECIPES § RESTAURANTS § SPAS § TRAVEL § Uncategorized ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: Bar Josephine, Cocktail Rive Gauche, France, Hotel Lutetia, L'Orangerie, Paris, Rive Gauche, Saint Germain

BEST FROZEN CUSTARD IN ST. LOUIS

Seemed like a great idea. Justify an overload of indulgent frozen custard gorging, by calling it a scientific experiment. We had four days, five researchers of varying ages and were in St. Louis—America’s ultimate frozen custard city, so we conducted a study following the classic six-step scientific method. 1. INITIAL OBSERVATIONS St. Louis has a […]

¶ Posted 22 August 2018 § BEST § CHOCOLATE § DESSERTS § FROZEN CUSTARD § MISSOURI § RECIPES § ST. LOUIS § TRAVEL § Uncategorized ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: Andy's Frozen Custard, Frozen Custard, Hot Fudge Sauce, Missouri, Mr. Wizard's, Silky's Frozen Custard, St. Louis, St. Louis Frozen Custard Factory, Ted Drewes

MAMMOTH EATING IN MAMMOTH LAKES, CALIFORNIA

Mammoth Lakes offers vast opportunities for outdoor activities. The Sierra Nevada Mountains provide a winter wonderland for skiing, snowboarding, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling. The Lake Basin supplies majestic lakes for fishing, boating, canoeing, kayaking and swimming. And the entire region is a scenic playground for hiking, biking, camping, photography and exploring nature. But […]

¶ Posted 04 August 2018 § ACCOMMODATIONS § BARS § BEVERAGES § BREAKFAST § BRUNCH § BRUSSELS SPROUTS § CALIFORNIA § COCKTAILS § COFFEE § COOKIES § DESSERTS § DRINKS § MAMMOTH LAKES § RECIPES § RESTAURANTS § SIDE DISHES § TRAVEL § VEGETABLES ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: Black Doubt Brewing, Bleu Market, California, COFFEE, Gin the Third, Homestead cookies, kale, Kale salad, Mammoth Fun Shop, Mammoth Lakes, Petra's Bistro & Wine Bar, quinoa, Shelter Distilling, Stellar Brew

SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE FROM ZINGERMAN’S BAKEHOUSE

For many years I’ve been trying to score the recipe for Zingerman’s best selling Sour Cream Coffee Cake. I’ve flashed my press credentials and requested the recipe at both Zingerman’s Deli and Zingerman’s Bakeshop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with no luck. (Well that’s not exactly true. I did feel extremely lucky that Zingerman’s shared a […]

¶ Posted 12 July 2018 § ANN ARBOR § BOOKS § BREADS § CAKE § COOKBOOK REVIEWS § COOKIES § DESSERTS § GIFT GIVING § MICHIGAN § PRODUCTS § RECIPES § RESTAURANTS ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: Amy Emberling, Ann Arbor, Antonis Achilleos, coffee cake, cookbook, Frank Carollo, sour cream, Zingerman's Bakehouse

MERMAIDS, THE WRECK BAR, RUM PUNCH & SHRIMP SALAD

Bet you think mermaids are fantasy beings. Hello! The captivating sea creatures are a real deal that you can catch frolicking, flittering and flirting outside the porthole windows of The Wreck Bar in Fort Lauderdale. (Sometimes they even shed their shell bikini tops and fishy fins just to prove how real they are.) The ship-shaped […]