I recently had a stupendous meal at the new-ish Book Bindery restaurant in Seattle. Besides the fact that it was one of the most fantastic dinners I’ve had in the last few years, the space itself was also a standout. It felt a bit like you’ve gone to a swank dinner party at a rich friend’s house by the water. A rich bookworm friend.
It’s Friday. It’s 5 o’clock on the East Coast and well past it in Paris. If I could, I’d be walking into the Le Meurice Hotel in Paris and finding myself a nice, comfortable seat at Le Bar 228 right now. What I’m drinking:
What began as a feature of the Ice Hotel in Sweden about 20 years ago has now become a full-fledged, albeit odd trend. The ice bar has branched out of its Arctic homeland and sprung up in places like Quebec, Dubai, Orlando, and unsurprisingly, Las Vegas. Here’s a roundup of some of this year’s ice bars. Most of them will be melting away soon so if you can get to one, do it now. Ice Hotel Bar, Sweden Hotel de Glace Bar, Quebec Lumilinna Snowcastle, Finland ICIUM, Finland Ice Bar, London Chena Hot Springs Resort, Alaska Blu Ice Bar, Minnesota Norwegian Cruise Lines Epic Ice Bar Ice Bar, Orlando Location Unknown
The VOC here stands for Vereenidge Oost-Indische Compagnie, better known as the East India Company. This bar is a modern interpretation of at 17th century punch house inspired by the VOC and located in King’s Cross, London. What does that mean? That means a menu consisting of cocktails, barrel-aged libations and punch. It’s designed to make you feel like you are drinking in another era, with decor and beverage echoing a style from the 1700′s. Don’t plan on eating dinner as the choices for nibbles are limited to olives, cheese and anchovies on toast, but this is a place for drinking, not dining.
Tagged: punch bar, VOC London
The canal houses of Amsterdam are famous for being famously narrow and colorful. The Jordaan district is one of the city’s more popular destinations and seems the perfect place for a boutique hotel, which this bar is part of. Comprised of three 17th century merchant houses, it’s perfect home base for touring the city, or for getting some refreshment from the sightseeing.
Tagged: Amsterdam Bar, Canal House, Canal House Hotel
