NEW YORK, NY – We stumbled into The Emerald as an unplanned stopover on my husband’s birthday, between dinner in TriBeCa and a planned trip to the Meatpacking District for live music.  It was a hot, muggy night and a quick mid-trip pint seemed in order.  The Emerald was a never-before-visited, random choice for our pit stop, but the sign [...]

BY:  MONICA BYERS NEW YORK, NY – I have a special affection for Thompson Street in the Village.  My ZATAOT partner in crime, Gary, was lucky enough to live on this street for a while.  Except I don’t think he counted himself quite so lucky – he found it annoyingly student-y (NYU is just around the corner) or, at least, [...]

By MONICA BYERS NEW YORK, NY – I almost didn’t write a piece on McSorley’s.  I assumed that a place trading so heavily on its longevity (more on that below) through the medium of extensive verbiage on its windows would be a horrible tourist trap.  And, indeed there are quite a few tourists at McSorley’s.   But there is also a [...]

By MONICA BYERS NEW YORK, NY – I love champagne so much I could cry.  Champagne bars, on the other hand, can frequently disappoint by either trying to hard, being too serious or just flat out not knowing what they’re doing.  The Bubble Lounge – while not completely perfect – is quite an agreeable place to gulp down the bubbly. [...]

By MONICA BYERS NEW YORK, NY – It’s hard to wander around New York City without suffering a degree of neighborhood envy on a nearly daily basis.  So many awesome areas – can you possibly pick a favorite?  Against all odds, I think I have managed to do just that. West Broadway is, in my opinion, the very best-est street in [...]

By MONICA BYERS NEW YORK, NY – Tucked away on a quiet Tribeca street is New York Vintners, which calls itself “more than a wine shop.”  And, indeed it is. As the name implies there is wine for sale in the front-of-store shop, which offers a good selection of great wines.  But New York Vintners also wants to teach you [...]

GETTYSBURG, PA – So you’ve been roped into an educational vacation – a trip to visit the Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  And wondering whether you can possibly have any fun in what appears to be a one-trick tourist town.  I was the same.  I’ve been trying to expose my British husband to all sorts of Americana, and a [...]

BY MONICA BYERS NEW YORK, NY – New York City’s Stone Street dates back to the 1660s; it got its current moniker sometime later on due to its cobblestone paving (so the name is based in history, not irony).  I want to love this short artery because it’s old and cute.  In reality, though, the establishments that line it are largely [...]

BY MONICA BYERS NEW YORK – As happens so often in a walking city like New York, my husband and I randomly wandered into Barrio 47 for an after-dinner drink one night.  We were immediately charmed by the sexy Latin vibe of the place, and by our personable bartender.  We were also seduced by the giant wood-burning oven that dominates [...]

BY MONICA BYERS NEW YORK, NY – For months, I’d hang out with my friend and fellow Zenster Gary and – sometime after the 3rd or 4th martini – he’d say “Let’s go to Arthur’s in the West Village.”  To which I’d say “There is no way I’m travelling all the way to the West Village at this time of [...]