NYC Restau-Style

[trip style = urban]

{Editor's Note: Today is a hybrid of our destination Spotlight{s} and Fashion Friday columns mix-mastered into one! Enjoy.}

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May I take a minute of your time for a New York minute?

I recently wrote an article for the travel section of The Daily Meal {an NYC-based foodie site} about what to pack for food-loving adventures, one of which was restaurant tasting in NYC.

The Trip In late November my sister {Trip Styler's Fashion Friday columnist} and I took a literal bite out of the Big Apple. Not wanting to waste any time during our 3-night/4-day stay, she made a foodie itinerary---based on the army of lifestyle bloggers she follows---that took us to corner bistros and alley-cat restaurants. See my top 3 picks below.

The Garb Trying to fit a restaurant and shopping checklist the size of the Chrysler building into one trip style = extended weekend, we were constantly on the go, meaning many of the fancier get-ups we brought for dinner didn't get worn. Ideally, it's always fun to get dressed up for a night out, but practically, it doesn't always happen that way when you've been out and about ALL day and need nourishment at.that.moment---hence the above day-to-night NYC restaurant'ing packing/style guide. - Women // Start with colored jeans, jean shirt, leather jacket and a Kate Spade messenger bag. End with the same bottoms, plus a black tank and leopard blazer to finish the look. - Men // Start with dark-wash jeans, button-up shirt and blazer. End by adding a pocket square and scarf to finish the look.

The Restaurants 1/ Breakfast // Freemans - Walking down a narrow alley, you reach a tall brick building with a small, nondescript door. Inside, the people and cuisine are the art in the old, canvas-like space. Freemans is an urban tavern experience with food that pulls from American traditions.

2/ Lunch // Cafe Cluny - This petite, cream-colored corner bistro is where conversation and contemplation happen---a place you could just as easily chat with friends or sit solo and read a novel. Servers wear striped Breton shirts, which I'm quite sure makes the French food taste that much better.

3/ Dinner // August - A small and simple interior meant to highlight the Mediterranean meals opens up into a glass-enclosed terrace with glowing lights, overhanging flowers and banquette seating reminiscent of massive church pews. Warning: the restaurant might have to kick you out, because you'll want to stay all night.

*See additional Trip Styler NYC suggestions here: eat, do & stay.

[photos and images via @tripstyler, cafe cluny & august]

Spotlight :: PDX'ing in Pictures

[trip style = urban]

Last weekend I was in Portland for the third time in just over a year. I swear, a NASA-grade laser beam keeps drawing me back. And it's not just me; anyone I talk to who's visited once, always becomes a lifer, gobbling up a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g to do with the trip style = urban playground.

What I love about PDX'ing is the farm-to-table, handmade, bike-everywhere spirit. In no other city would someone inquire if my vest was handmade or give directions as if I was biking. Similarly, when I asked the hotel concierge where to shop in the area, he told me about a bunch of independent boutiques, purposefully failing to mention any of the department stores or chain shops like Anthropologie in the area.

Brunch. Tasty n Sons: A neighborhood bistro with a menu that's anything but. Think breakfast tapas like griddled bacon wrapped dates with maple syrup and almond, or sweet biscuits with warm blueberry compote and creme anglais. Trip Styler Tip :: If you want to avoid the brunch rush, go early around 8.45am to secure a table for the 9am open. If you can't get up early, get in line and send your partner to Ristretto Rosters down the street for a coffee.

Brunch. Broder: Scandinavian fare in the Pacific Northwest. Whatever you do, make sure you sample a potato pancake, pictured above.

Shop. Beckel Canvas: After brunching at Broder, walk down the street to Beckel Canvas, a family-run business operating out of a little production facility and storefront in an area filled with family homes. They make all their products---from canvas totes to duffels to tents---on site.

Shop. Schoolhouse Electric Supply & Co: Filament bulbs, deco-modern lights and minimalist decor in a massive brick warehouse with a flower shop and coffeehouse in the space.

Shop. Hawthorne District: Vintage clothing and furniture shops galore. While there, I could have picked up a million things for the home, but I resisted and snapped up a vintage 70s Coach bag {made in NYC before production was shipped overseas} instead.

Related Content
Spotlight Portland {part deux}
Spotlight Portland {part one}
Ace Portland
Jetset Jingles :: Portland
IMG_FRI :: Portlandia
Vancouver to Seattle Must-Stops

[photos by @tripstyler @nate_fri @heatherlovesit]

Portlandia

[trip style = urban + weekend getaway]

Over the next few days I'll be trip style = weekending in Portland, aka Portlandia for those in the know. If you're a regular Trip Styler reader, you're probably aware that I heart the gritty city with a deep NYC & LA kinda love. What other city has more bikes parked in front of restaurants than cars? What other city pours bourbon in the vast majority of all its cocktails? What other city puts bacon on their doughnuts?

PS. Have you seen the series Portlandia with SNL's Fred Armisen? If you've ever been to Portland, or want to go, it's worth a watch.

Some images of my favorite things:

{To Start: Coava & Stumptown Coffee.}

{Whenever I travel by car "locally", my dog @nachoking comes along. Hotels like Fairmont(s), Ace(s), Westin(s), Kimpton(s), etc...all welcome dogs.}

{Voodoo Doughnut, for waistline purposes, a once-a-year indulgence. Maple bacon and oreo peanut butter.}

{To finish: butterscotch pudding at the Irving Street Kitchen.}

Related
Spotlight Portland {part deux}
Spotlight Portland {part one}
Ace Portland
Vancouver to Seattle Must-Stops

[photos by @tripstyler]

Bellevue, Bundled

[trip style = weekend getaway + urban]

{Editor's Note: A few weeks ago we published some IMG_FRI photos of a small-batch coffee shop in Bellevue, WA hinting there was more to come. Following yesterday's Roam+Board featuring a health hotel in Bellevue, I give you: what's cool in the sub/urban city just outside of Seattle.}

Sometimes you need a trip style = urban + weekend getaway that's easy -- an auto-pilot escape.

For Vancouverites, one such escape is Bellevue, WA. If your goal is to shop, eat out and explore a little on the side, this entertainment destination has got you covered. Everything is close, walkable and bundled into a smart little package.

One of the main reasons people hit up Seattle instead of Bellevue is the city vs. suburb draw. Yet in the last few years, Bellevue has shifted to a city destination of its own. Here are some its indie, urban finds to whet your palate.

Breakfast - Chace's Pancake Corral - Tie up your horse car and gobble a few flapjacks sour cream waffles and hash brown omelets at this wild, wild western breakfast saloon. A Bellevue institution since 1958, this diner has a steady flow of high ratings on Urbanspoon and yelp.

Coffee - Cafe Cesura - If a Yaletown loft, '50s Palm Springs rancher and Intelligentsia Coffeebar had a baby, this is what it would look {and taste} like.

Happy Hour - Lot No. 3 - A dimly lit den where Bellevue's cool cats gather for happy hour or late-night drinks and nibble on {a new take on} comfort food. Try the baked pretzel and homemade mustard dipping sauce paired with a respectable selection of craft beer and cocktails.

Dinner - Monsoon East - Saigon-inspired Vietnamese cuisine with a dash of Pacific Northwest. Perch yourself at the Ocean Bar to marvel at the open-concept kitchen's fresh ingredients and pace.

PS - Don't forget to visit the Bellevue Arts Museum for the famed Gorge Nelson show {on until Feb 12th}. Hailed as "pure furniture porn for mid-century modernists" by Brian Miller, Seattle Weekly.

See more of TS's do/eat/stay Bellevue picks here.

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[photos by @tripstyler & restaurant websites]

Spotlight :: Modern Honolulu

[trip style = sun + beach + urban + weekend getaway]

Maybe you love crowds, duty-free shopping galleries, two-hour restaurant waits and garden-variety hotels, but I don't. It's not my idea of a tropical affair. So, this past weekend I custom-tailored a trip style = sun + beach + urban + weekend getaway with a modern mantra. You have to know what you're doing to enjoy Waikiki like you're the only guest at the luau.

First order of biz: find a cool hotel just off the strip with a sense of space---not an easy task in Honolulu until recently. In late 2010, a hotel opened that ruffled the feathers of traditional beachside resort cash cows and beckoned a forgotten breed: discerning travelers with an appetite for cool.

The Modern Honolulu is sleek, spacious and social, hanging between Waikiki and Ala Moana beaches. A massive surfboard installation hangs above reception and the rest follows this abstractly composed aesthetic: neutral rooms decorated with tropical accoutrements; a wood-deck pool surrounded by beach beds for two; an outdoor bar with picnic and yellow bistro tables shaded by overhanging trees and lit at night by strings of twinkly wine-bottle luminaries---the list goes on. {See my detailed Trip Advisor review here.}

Rethink Honolulu. Your curated, DIY luau is waiting {without the crowds and watery mai tais}.

Eat

• Breakfast: Cream Pot {in the Hawaiian Monarch hotel}. I was a little skeptical about this breakfast factory with a cult following, but once I tasted the food, I was converted. Don't let the grandma's-kitchen-meets-French-countryside decor throw you. The service is slow, but with a smile, and the food is sinfully good. Dishes like the homemade vanilla custard cream-filled crepe with salted caramel sauce and the ahi carpaccio eggs benedict with a grilled rice cake, avocado and orange miso shoyu sauce are exactly the kind of meals you want to avoid before lounging poolside. But if you go for an early-morning surf, SUP or run, it's all good!
• Dinner: Morimoto {in The Modern Honolulu hotel}. If celeb Iron Chef Morimoto's self-titled restaurant is good enough for Obama {who dined there over the holidays}, it's good enough for me. A stark white interior with splashes of green and purple accentuates the open kitchen. Those who want an al fresco experience while soaking in the warm climate can sit outside in the covered dining area. Make a reso in advance and try the tuna pizza. I don't like anchovies, olives or jalapenos, but I LOVED this inventive appetizer.
• Drinks: La Mariana Sailing Club. Sandwiched between shipping yards and boat repair hangars in Honolulu's pier district, La Mariana is a museum-quality ode to all things tiki. The lush grounds facing the marina lead you into 1950s exotica with wooden carvings, preserved puffer fish lights, netted ceilings and multicoloured glass fishing floats in every corner. Go for umbrella drinks here and dinner elsewhere, and stay long enough to croon to the live piano music. Ron, the longtime {and blind} pianist plays songs like "I just called to say I love you..." {Thanks for the recommendation Steve & Kelly!}

Getting There Getting to Honolulu is easy with a multitude of nonstop flights and departure points. WestJet and AirCanada fly from Vancouver {approx $700 return}, Alaska flies from Bellingham {approx $400 return}, and Alaska, Hawaiian and Delta fly from Seattle {approx $500 return}.

Related A Tropical Experiment High/Low :: Booking A Vacation In Maui

[photos by @tripstyler]