I was sitting at the dinner table last night in the personal home of an Argentine winery owner, with his wife and the winemaker, and felt an overwhelming inspiration to write you all a quick note from South America. For the past week I have been doing a once-in-a-lifetime wine tour of Chile and Argentina with [...]

Typically, photos are my only traveling souvenir, but there was one thing in Thailand that I was not going home without. A smiling ceramic garden sculpture. Not a gnome. But, similar. There were two hanging from a tree at my Chiang Mai hotel, The 3 Sis. I was immediately obsessed. It turned out these little [...]

There are so many incredible wine perks to owning a restaurant, like the private wine tasting at Napa Valley’s Trinchero that included a stay at the invitation-only Sutter Home Victorian Inn. That was pretty great, but this next adventurous bonus may be even better. We are heading to Chile and Argentina with Copa Fina Imports for an exclusive tour of select South America wine valleys and [...]

While traveling to Hong Kong, in Asia, I knocked quite a few items off my Bucket List. And found quite a few more to add to yours. Bucket List of 17 Things to do in Hong Kong 1. RIDE THE LONGEST ESCALATOR IN THE WORLD Rest your weary feet from Hong Kong’s hilly streets and get [...]

I am a huge fan of going to one of the highest places in each city I visit to check out the view and to get my bearings. In Florence it was the top of the Duomo, Seattle the Space Needle and Georgia’s St. Simon’s was a lighthouse climb.  And almost every city has some sort of pinnacle [...]

As a consumer I really like Yelp. As a restaurateur? Not so much. My restaurant, Sugo Trattoria, has a solid four stars out of five in their rating system, so I am not just saying this because our reviews suck, because they don’t…most of the time. And I am more than willing to admit that on [...]

Hong Kong boasts a variety of markets and I went to just about every one of them. But, one stood out as a bucket list worthy event, probably because in all my travels I had never witnessed anything like it. The Goldfish Market is truly unique. And a bit quirky. Hong Kong’s Goldfish Market caters to [...]

In a recent interview with Life Listed, I claimed that my favorite bucket list adventure was swimming with stingrays in the Grand Caymen. But, that was before bathing elephants in Thailand. Elephants trump stingrays. The one thing I was looking forward to most about traveling to Chiang Mai was an experience hanging out with elephants in Thailand. Nope. We will not [...]

In a world where I dedicate my life to achieving my dreams, eating dessert before dinner makes total sense. It is a dream. Besides, I am an adult, most of the time, and can make my own decisions about what I ingest, even if it is a entire meal dedicated to sugar. Luckily, dessert always comes first at Hong [...]

I use the term “day job” loosely…very loosely. Because, being a restaurateur takes up most of the 24 hours in a day, not just the typical nine to five. And it’s not really a job, it is a lifestyle choice. If you don’t mind working late on weekends, covering the occasional dishwashing shift or snaking a floor drain when [...]