Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh: Kimpton at its Old Best
February 9, 2020
Hard to believe it has been five years since the last NPS visit to Pittsburgh! Dang. The great news is that the Hotel Monaco in Pittsburgh is like stepping into a Kimpton time warp—in all the good ways.
The first good thing was discovering that our ancient Kimpton points of yore (which were transformed into some kind of mystery pointy prickly spire IHG points) were still valid and useful! Who knew?! So a quick cycle with GM Rob Mallinger hooked us up with our very favorite room at the favorable price of zero.
You may recall that 835 is the bomb. And the staff at this hotel is just awesome. In particular we want to give shouts out to Matt for an outstandingly personal welcome and to Annalisa for going above and beyond the call of duty to retrieve some data for us while we were out and about. Outstanding.

Welome to 835. Wine, cheese, a personal note. Yes, welcome indeed.

835 Living room

835 bed room

This shower is not at all plastic. Yays.
It snowed. Classic Pennsylvania. Arriving after 7, we found a sea of fundraising private school hipsters dressed to the nines. It was well nigh dinner time. Fortunately, Rob set us up at Union Standard where there were oysters, Negroni’s and other good eats. Sadly, by the time a leisurely dinner was consumed, the plan to hit up Butcher and the Rye had the kibosh put right on it. Who closes a good bourbon bar at 11 on a Saturday night? Well, apparently the James Beard winners do. Alas.

Union Standard

A dirty martini? On this blog?! WTF?!
So it was back to the commoner (found in the basement of the Monaco) for a nightcap. Though the clientele leaves a little something to be desired (Trump country assholes abound in the PA private school world), there was good Rye. Not to mention Gina, a delightful barkeep. (The bar itself was established by Kenny many years ago and then properly curated by Mike Ryan before he headed to Sable to build another gem.) The commoner bar is still world class.

At the commoner, Gina and some rye
So how do you recover from all that Rye? With some “Pittsburgh hash” at Pamela’s (a great greasy spoon diner for breakfast). Right next door, you’ll find some very interesting tiny ass doughnuts at Peace, Love, and Little Donuts (sic).

Pamela’s, a Pittsburgh tradition

Just like it says
The Warhol museum is a great place to visit in Pittsburgh. Excellent art properly curated. See pictures here.
Excellent Taiwanese comfort food can be found at Cafe 33.
And there is live music in Pittsburgh. Saw an intimate show of aging punks featuring John Doe. See lots of pictures and videos here.

john doe krisin hersh grant-lee phillips pittsburgh
Day two breakfast was just super good. Great espresso, tasty crepes and art. Make sure to go to Geppetto Cafe in Pittsburgh for breakfast.

Geppetto Cafe Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is hoppin.
This old school Kimpton thing going on at the Hotel Monaco is well worth five showerheads with a couple of plus signs tacked on for good measure. Wish there were more like this in the rest of the country!
Pullman Sydney Hyde Park
February 3, 2020
OK, so the Pullman Sydney is trying to update itself from the ’70s, but apparently this is all being done on a budget. Time to spend some money you guys. Here’s a list:
- HVAC that works when it is above 80 degrees outside
- Updated furniture for ALL guestrooms
- A place to shower on arrival from flying across the world (that is not associated with a swimming pool or a gym)
- Three working elevators
One of us staying here this visit got stuck in an elevator for 7 minutes. Another waited 29 minutes for an elevator down. A third ended up going up in a service elevator and walking down 21 stories to meet us in the lobby. Elevator tech? This is a solved problem. Spend some money.
While we’re at it, lets talk about having rooms of the right category properly assigned. The front desk, though super nice, was also super clueless and did not pay attention to instructions. As a result, night one was spent in 1515, the proper kind of room on a non-updated floor. No really, the decor needs work. Here is 1515.

Ye olde ’70s color scheme

A not very clean couch that is orange. Nope.

Purple
After a set of progressively silly room swaps and 24 hours, room 1915 (which had, you guessed it, broken HVAC) became available. The room category is right, and there is an updated much more hip color scheme.
Here is what 1915 looks like.

Brown

Much nicer
Some apology fruit was provided along with a note.

Apologies.
The shower in 1915 is still a hot tub based thing that is amusing. The one in 1915 is better than the one in 1515.
As far as NPS is concerned, the Pullman has worn out its pretty clear warnings. No more stays here. Ding. Finito. Basta.
On the other hand, it is Sydney. So that’s good. That means aquariums and maritime museums. Art and cocktails. And great food. Sydney is a fun city to visit.

95 degrees is too hot for this poor hotel
There was a boat race.
A visit to the rocks and the MCA was a blast on a Sunday.

Lunar new year

El Presidente at Old Maid’s Place
\

We’ll all have one please

Pisco sour
Dinner at Bibo was really delicious with great wine pairings and delightful company. An after dinner drink at Shady Pines? Not so much.
The Palisades is a very hip and fun place for dinner. Cocktails at Door Knock are top notch.
We’re demoting the Pullman from a low three showerheads to two showerheads. We believe that is below the threshold.
Bloomington Done Right: The Grant Street Inn
January 17, 2020
You know how we feel here at NPS when it comes to generic hotels. The good news is that this trip (off season and not on a game weekend) the Grant Street Inn had our favorite room available. Needless to say, this place beats the heck out of the Hyatt Place.
So here we are in room 31. Sadly the fireplace has been disconnected and no longer functions. In fact, there are a few things that could use sprucing up…like better furnishings, no ancient radio, no phone that plugs into the wall, and some outlets built into the bedside table. You can do it guys!!
The first trip of 2020 started out great with a last minute upgrade from United who seems to have changed their upgrade policy to make things more nail biting for Global Services members. Not sure how we feel about that.
And then there was the hilarious stretch limo that the car service used to get us from Indy to Bloomington.
While in Bloomington, visit the Irish Lion for a stiff drink. And have some food at Anyetsang’s Little Tibet Restaurant.
The Grant Street remains our favorite location to stay in Bloomington. Four showerheads.
The Lorien for Battery Recharge Through Cocktails, Art, and Conversation
December 16, 2019
Ah the Lorien, it has been a while! Since NPS last visited, IHG has done all it can to change the Kimpton chain it acquired into something we don’t recognize. The good news is that many excellent people remain, like Steph Vogel who we count as a friend.
We were assigned little nicely renovated rooms without plastic showers. Just right for this one night extravaganza. NPS was in 414.

arty bed
The shower is OK, not plastic, but who picked out that shower head?!
Thanks for the Negroni Steph!

Negroni with Watershed by Catoctin Creek
Chef prepared us dinner (we didn’t order, just reveled in what arrived). Delicious.
Must say that all of the cocktails are too sweet at the Lorien now.
We called in the usual set of favors to get the booth at the Colimbia Room. Perfect evening for talking, drinking and figuring out life.

Columbia Room menu
Breakfast the next morning was the highlight of the visit! Great to see Steph and catch up.
Then it was off to a day of art at the Hirshhorn, the Phillips, and the Renwick…oh yeah and Richard’;s house too! Just look.

Make sure to go back to the Hirshhorn. It is vastly improved
Lunch at Bistrôt du coin. Always French as all getout.

The Phillips is a favorite most anytime
Dinner with Richard was followed by an evening of conversation. Anytime.
All in all, an incredible visit. Life affirming on all counts.
Four showerheads for the Lorien. This IHG thing. Harumph.
Last Licks in Tokyo
November 30, 2019
One more day in Tokyo before flying home. NPS is back in the very same room at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo with the progeny for another night. After taking the Shinkansen back from Kyoto it was time for sushi with Rio.
Lots of sushi pictures and videos on apothecaryshed.
Then it was off to “the local” for a pre-game negroni (that is, the Tippler’s Arms).

The Tippler’s Arms will make you a cocktail
Then a local train to Kitazaswa to see the Dead Bambis. First a fuel stop before the show.
The Dead Bambis are very loud and very good. (Earplugs are a necessity at these shows!). See more pictures and videos of the show on apothecaryshed.
Then a visit to a new bar in Shinjuku bound to become a classic—Jeremiah. We met the owner K in Kyoto at Bees Knees and he told us about his new project in Tokyo. K then met us in Tokyo. Awesome.
Blue blazers, corpse revivers, extra fun shots. Just go!
Finally it was across the street to the LGBTQ neighborhood Hanazono Nishi for some people watching and dog patting.
Short, but fun last day in Tokyo!
Pontocho Misoguigawa: An Incredible Culinary Experience
November 29, 2019
Pontocho Misoguigawa in Kyoto is a legend. Incredible Japanese/French fusion food served Kaiseki (懐石) style. If you miss your milk, butter, and cream while in Japan, just pay a visit.
Chef (and owner) Inoué Téruo is a delight and a master. His annual trips to France show in his cuisine.
A Jaunt Through Wilmington: Courtyard by Marriott (not so much)
November 12, 2019

New shiny bits for the Stick
A quick but essential trip down to Wilmington to upgrade the Stick internet to fiber. Hopefully NPS will be spending more time here in 2020.

The Stick in November

Atlantic facing south
Sadly the best bet for staying in Wilmington is the Courtyard by Marriott. I know. Downtown. It is new, but somehow dated and frivolous at the same time. We were assigned hamster cage 317 (see the red dot).

Dot r you.

generic

generic

generic
Plastic with a glass door?! It’s the new plastic.

Looks OK from here

Molded plastic for all
Dinner and a Negroni at Caprice Bistrot was quite good. Best yet in Wilmington.
Two showerheads and a yawn for the Courtyard Marriott in Wilmington. We’re glad it’s here. We think.
Hyatt Place Pablum in Bloomington, Indiana
October 19, 2019
Yeah well the Grant Street Inn was full. So we ended up at a Hyatt Place. Nope. Hamster cages for all.

Bloomington Morning

Hamster cage 229

Same

Same

Not plastic, but might as well be
NPS will try hard to avoid Hyatt Place in the future. About the only good thing about it is that the Irish Lion is across the street.

Irish Lion across the street

The bar at the Irish Lion

Old Fashioned
There was also a house concert.

Ritt and Wilder Deitz
Two showerheads for the Hyatt.