My first few nights and early mornings in Richmond, Virginia, were shockingly cold for early November. That put me in the mood for something warm and cozy for dinner. And I found it on a quiet corner of downtown in the form of Irie Ting Jamaican Grill. Read about it >
Tag Archives: USA
Invest Some Time in a Buffalo Bank
The Buffalo Savings Bank building, in downtown Buffalo, New York, is always pretty: during the day, or when it warms up with the setting sun in the evening, or when the inside lights glow through giant arched windows at night. That was impressive enough, but when I stepped inside to take a look, it quickly became one of my favorite bank buildings in the world. Read about it >
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Once Bitten, Twice Shy: How a Restaurant in Richmond Redeemed Ethiopian Food for Me
I had eaten Ethiopian food only once, in Washington, D.C. (often ranked as one of the best U.S. cities for this cuisine), and, frankly, it was gross. But that was three decades ago, so when I came across Addis Ethiopian Restaurant in Richmond, Virginia, I was eager (and a bit apprehensive) to give it a second chance to cure my aversion. Read about it >
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Oklahoma’s Churches Are More Than OK
Adolf Hitler in stained glass. Dogs attending services. An Art Deco beauty co-designed by a female architect way back in 1929. A collateral victim of one of the worst terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. An abbey church on a now defunct college campus. Visiting churches in Oklahoma proved to be a highly unusual experience. More than just beautiful structures, these houses of worship are packed with some truly fascinating stories. Read about the top five churches in Oklahoma >
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History and Mystery at The Commonwealth
For a carless week in Richmond, Virginia, I wanted a hotel centrally located to most of what I planned to see that I could reach by walking. I found it in the 110-year-old The Commonwealth, in the heart of downtown. I found it to be friendly, truly convenient, and quite comfortable. What I didn’t expect to find, however, was a series of supernatural occurrences that exceeded the parameters of normal hotel room idiosyncrasies and kept my stay here an ongoing guessing game of what would happen next. Read about it >
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Pub Grub Done Right
I had just taken a one-mile late-afternoon walk along the old canal in Richmond, Virginia, now transformed from an abandoned industrial hub to a quiet pedestrian walkway where you can still see glimpses of the manmade canal’s heyday when it spurred the city’s economic growth. Up the stairs to street level, I began to search for a dinner spot, in the mood for comfort food. I quickly found it in the sole survivor of a mostly demolished freight depot that shut down in the 1980s at Southern Railway Taphouse. Read about it >
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Comfort Food Without the Wrong Kind of Spirits
I was trying to determine if my hotel in Richmond, Virginia—the Commonwealth—was haunted or not. Drawers that opened by themselves, toilet bowls that never flushed the same way twice, lights turned on after I switched them off earlier in the day, an air conditioner that continued to click on and off after I unplugged it from the wall. The Commonwealth doesn’t bill itself as haunted, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the 110-year-old hotel in this terrifically historic city has a few supernatural things lurking about. Fortunately, none of them showed up during my dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, Rueger’s, so you can enjoy your meal where the only spirits come in a glass. Read about it >
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Making the Rounds of Savannah’s Squares
The first planned city in what would become the United States was Savannah, Georgia, founded in 1733. It’s seductive, genteel, refined, beautiful, historical, sultry, mysterious—and imminently walkable. As I roamed the gorgeous streets of the city’s main historic district, in between all the buildings (every one of which has a fascinating history) and the palm, magnolia, sycamore, and live oak trees with their feathery Spanish moss, I was never very far from one of the district’s 22 squares, inviting green and shady spaces where you can relax and absorb the aura of America’s most atmospheric city. Read about them >
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German Goodness at the Only Schnitzel Bar in Richmond, Virginia
It may not feel exactly like a café or bar you would find in Germany, but it does capture a certain stimmung, a convivial mood that I often found when visiting Germany itself. I didn’t expect that in Richmond, Virginia, but Café Rustika pleasantly surprised me. Serving up German comfort food with smiles and raves for the chef’s creations, the staff here make you feel like you would, if you lived in town, come back again and again. Read about it >
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How to Satisfy Your Hankerin’ for Southern Food in Richmond
On my first night in Richmond, Virginia, I felt the need to go full-on Southern for dinner. Tobacco Company Restaurant certainly had the name that indicated it might fit the bill. And it delivered in a big way, with iconic Southern food, a very lively vibe, and a terrific backstory. Read about it >
Stephen Travels 