Restaurants
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Bourbon Master Lifts Spirits at Loews Philadelphia’s Bank & Bourbon Restaurant
From left, Daniel Kulisek makes his point as Bank & Bourbon restaurant’s recently appointed Bourbon master. “If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven than I shall not go.” – Mark Twain Story, photos by Sharon Kozden I’ll be straight up and honest. I’m not a hard liquor fan. My most daring drinky-drink is a margarita and without that sweet and salty cocktail, I prefer white wine. So before Covid19 chaos, and while on assignment to cover Loews Philadelphia Hotel’s Bank & Bourbon Restaurant’s media preview party of the appointment of their very own in-house Bourbon master, I knew I’d be in for an all-inclusive education. One doesn’t…
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Get a Taste of Philly in the Crystal Tea Room at Wanamaker Building
This way please … to an out-of-this-world beverage and food stuffs happening. “Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale.” – Elsa Schiaparelli Story, photos by Sharon Kozden The elegant Crystal Tea Room was the perfect venue for Taste of Philly’s 12th Annual culinary tasting and tippling event, which showcases the finest in food and spirits that Philadelphia area restaurants, wineries and breweries can lay claim to. Notable this year was an expansion of space, allowing for the sold out event to feature more of everything, including…
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Spring into the Sierra Nevada Mountain Culture in Carson Valley
Photos, story by Cassie Hepler Nestled at the base of the Sierra Nevada, Carson Valley is an overlooked eye candy oasis begging to be explored. Located 45 miles south of Reno-Tahoe International Airport and 12 miles east of South Lake Tahoe, the region includes the communities of Minden, Gardnerville, Topaz Lake and Genoa (Nevada’s first settlement dating back to 1851). It offers a window to the authentic American West. The region’s natural beauty is legendary: wide-open farms, ranches, bands of wild horses and birds of prey dot the landscape. And of course golf with views that will leave you wanting more. The valley’s museums, arts, antiquing, Basque dining, a myriad…
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Explore with Cassie Celebrates 5 Years of Lifestyle and Travel Blogging
Story by Cassie Hepler, photos by D’Nyjah French What began as an idea to keep exploring in the middle of a cold, harsh Philadelphia winter has now blossomed into a 5 year old! I remember it well… that month me and my IT angel spent grinding the idea out with laser sharp focus. By the end of January 2015, we had not one but two websites Explore Philly and Explore New Jersey (this is what happens when you mix a Virgo with a Taurus… extra AF). But since it was such a local East Coast hyper focus, we found that limiting. Of course we frequently traveled outside of the tri-state area…
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Mardi Gras is Not all Boobs and Beads in Lafayette, Louisiana
Story, photos and video by Cassie Hepler As soon as this press trip was in the planning stages, almost everyone started asking me about boobs… “Will you see any? Will you be showing yours?” (Hard no, btw…) Then the bead questions started rolling in as well and what occurred to me is that no one really knows what the hell is going on during Mardi Gras, better known as Fat Tuesday. The French saying refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. There’s also Lundi Gras, the Monday before Fat Tuesday which kicks off…
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DesignPhiladelphia Festival Celebrates 15 Years, Hosts Kickoff Party at Cherry Street Pier
The Ben Franklin Bridge’s steel-suspension design is a perfect backdrop for DesignPhilaldephia’s Kickoff Party. “Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fits our needs so well that the design is invisible.”- Don Norman Story, photos by Sharon Kozden My introduction to Philadelphia’s design scene occurred in fall at Cherry St. Pier, where DesignPhiladelphia kick-started its 15th annual 10-day long festival with a launch party that had the stunning Benjamin Franklin Bridge as backdrop. It was a fitting and iconic location choice. What, after all, screams both stellar design and Philadelphia more than the Ben bridge? What wasn’t fitting on that…
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Cheerio! Exploring London, England a Second Time Around
Story, photos by Jill Beckel London, England… a city known for its gray skies, beautiful architecture, culture, art, rich history, the River Thames, the British monarchy, pubs and tea. I was fortunate enough to have been able to study abroad in my college days for a term my sophomore year of college back in 2006. Since then, I’ve been yearning to go back and explore the city even more. I recently got the chance to make the trip back with my husband this time and it couldn’t have been better. All that I would have wished for was to have been able to stay longer! I knew that I wanted…
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Relax, Reconnect and Repeat at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort in Arizona
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler Once I moved across the country, I soon ended up living near Camelback Mountain in the trendy Arcadia section of Phoenix, Arizona as everyone said I would love it and they were right. I could see the telltale mountain from my farm casita rental. Shortly thereafter, I purchased property nearby. And big surprise, I ended up staying near Camelback and now have views of Papago Park and am kind of nestled in between both. I was also told (in new age land of Sedona of course) that Camelback is an amazing energy vortex mountain and wholeheartedly believe that. So when Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort…
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Making Weekend Waves at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Heads up for one imposing casino resort. You’ll find an entire playground in that “Ocean.” “Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the ‘Titanic’ who waved off the dessert cart.” – Erma Bombeck Story, photos by Sharon Kozden Happy first anniversary to Atlantic City’s Ocean Casino Resort! You’ve done good. Matter of fact, better than good. You are, in this writer’s opinion (and as reviewed by many others), a smashing success. I know my casinos, empirically speaking, that is. Back in the day and thanks to an accumulated bounty of comps from her favorite Atlantic City casino, my mom and me would hop a Bieber bus from Coopersburg to…
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Musical Memphis, Tennessee Resurrecting into its Glory Days
Story, photos/videos by Cassie Hepler (unless otherwise noted) The irony of getting off the old school Greyhound Bus from Clarksville to Memphis, Tennessee with its shiny, new marble polished floors and then stepping into a Mercedes Benz did not sneak past me. For me, getting a smidge of work done on the spotty Wifi was better than driving although a bit longer (3 hours versus 5 on the bus). I was reminded that some things never change since college and that I am still not a fan (big surprise there). However the journalist in me still likes mixing and mingling with all walks of life and hearing the strange stories that…
