Is Chicago Is not Chicago
January 25, 2016
A man drives a plane
Into the Chrysler building
A man drives a plane
Into the Chrysler building
Saskatoon is in the room
Poulsbo is in the room
Bennetsville is in the room
Palmyra is in the room
Is Chicago
Is not Chicago
Is Chicago
Is not Chicago
A man cuts in half
Just like he snaps a pencil
A man cuts in half
Just like he snaps a pencil
Khartoum is in the room
Phnom Penh is in the room
Pyongyang is in the room
Cairo is in the room
Is Chicago
Is not Chicago
Is Chicago
Is not Chicago
A man drives a plane
Into the Chrysler building
A man drives a plane
Into the Chrysler building
Into the, into the, into the, into the
Mailbox in Virginia
Art at the MCA
Architecture for a game
up
down
Mostly we were here for the astounding Eighth Blackbird. Sometimes when I perform my body has the same emotional response. But never when I watch. This is the future.
This is the future.
Excellent birds.
Oh, and the Palomar moved us down ten floors. Still a sweet suite.
no plastic showers
sit
stay
Also of note, Bottlefork is a great place for brunch and Three Dots and a Dash is a nice place for a banana daiquiri. Yeah, I know.
Tiki @ThreeDotsCHI banana @LoveTequila pic.twitter.com/alvJl1f4kK
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) January 25, 2016
The Palomar in Chicago is the Real Thing
January 23, 2016
Hello Chicago
Bye bye Westin, hello Chicago. The great East coast blizzard of 2016 has us stuck in the middle of the country until Sunday no make that Monday (at the earliest). But we don’t mind. We’ll make an adventure of the whole thing.
Job #1? Secure some rooms at the Palomar for the C-level posse. An email to the fantastic staff at the Palomar made that happen. Thanks Brandon Massey, Nabeel Toubayly, and Benjamin Gress. Sadly, the artist suite is occupied. Happily that doesn’t matter. Rooms 1725 and 1726 are a great combo package and situate you right in the middle of the city with excellent views all around. And get this, rooms at the Palomar can be had at less than half the price of the suburban Westin. Just wow. The world is seriously confused.
1725 entryway
Man is it nice to be back where style rules the roost and the staff is top notch. Kimpton takes the cake.
View from one side of the corner, 1725
1725 bedroom
1726 sitting room
Of course, here at NPS we are obligated to talk about the showers. In 1725 you will find a glass cube design and a huge tub. Very Kimpton.
Wait for it
The long glass cube
Bathroom area
Other aspects of the Chicago Palomar fit right in with excellence in showers. Like John Stanton and the Sable bar. The bar at Sable (not to mention the restaurant itself) is great enough to be a destination of its own. If you’re in Chicago, pay a visit. Not staying at the Palomar? Who cares, come to Sable anyway.
Sable bar. Phenomenal. The excellent John Stanton at the helm. Palomar chicago @kimpton pic.twitter.com/vLylrqtgbi
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) January 22, 2016
The best part of Sable is seriously great craft cocktail capability. Every time NPS visits, we learn something. This time, we were wowed by the Scot Toddy (warm, mint, lemon, wow) and an experimental beverage that John created on the spot which we’ll call the
Shaped Charge:
1.5 Rye Whiskey (Wild Turkey 100)
.75 Suze
.25 Carpano antica
.25 Caffe moka
2 generous droppers of Bitterman’s Hellfire shrub
Stir down. Serve on a big cube. Express lemon peel.
Seriously though, Sable is great and it is always a delight to see John in action. Plus you can end the night with a taste of George T. Stagg (2015) just like at home.
Stagg 2015. @DrewKilbourne pic.twitter.com/Y4HhlmT5h2
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) January 23, 2016
Back to the situation at hand. If you’re going to be stuck in a city, pick Chicago. Want some deep dish Chicago-style pizza? Try Lou Malnati’s pies. Doughnut for breakfast? Glazed and Infused is the way to go.
Our posse’s Saturday plans included a visit to the Art Institute of Chicago, some jazz at Green Mill and taking in an obscure Tenessee Williams play (The Mutilated) at the Red Orchid.
Doughnuts at Glazed and Infused
Dali details
More art from the Art Institute of Chicago on apothecaryshed.
Green Mill for Paper Machete
Irish coffee chaser for Malort shots
Red Orchid Theater: Set for Mutilations
For providing a safe haven from 24 inches of snow at home, we award the Chicago Palomar the massive snowplow award and five showerheads forever. Thanks for being home in Chicago.
Philadelphia Freedom Anchored at the Monaco
December 15, 2015
Independence Hall
Wow. Our first visit to the Monaco was so fantastic that it even eclipsed it’s big sister the Palomar. Well done Monaco! Thanks to GM James Adamson for queueing things up perfectly (and Steph Vogel for the intro).
We were in town to see our old friend (and famous philosopher) Dave Chalmers chat on stage with our very favorite playwright of all time Tom Stoppard. The chat was fantastic. Tom wrote a play based on Dave’s catchy “Hard Problem” phrase. Two astounding minds interacting live.
Tom Stoppard and Dave Chalmers Talk Consciousness
But it got better. After the chat, a bunch of us in Dave’s cadre retired to Charlie Was a Sinner for some delicious cocktails, vegan (?!) eats, and some conversation. About which more in a minute.
Charlie Was a Sinner is a great bar. NO TV! Real cocktails. Great eats.
Philly was dressed for the holidays.
Perhaps our Republican politicians should read this. Can they read?
When we arrived in the convertible (with the top down in December) we were greeted in classic Kimpton way with great style and extra brushes (?!).
Monaco Philly has a Flying Glowing Boat
Would You Like a Brush with That?
We checked into gorgeous suite 316 after passing a flying pig.
When Pigs Fly (you go Pink)
316 Sitting Room looks out over Independence Hall
316 Couch
The Bedroom in 316
Of course regular NPS readers know we immediately went to see the shower storage area, er bathroom, which we are happy to report has a shower so big that it has a soaking tub IN it.
Great Shower. NPS Approved.
Now back to Charlie Was a Sinner. Boy were they accommodating to the group of philosophers, psychologists, computer scientists, cognitive scientists and theater people we gathered. The highlight of the evening? Tom Stoppard stopped in too.
Talking about why Searle’s Chinese Room thought experiment is wrong with Tom Stoppard
My companion’s favorite drink was an invention by master barman (and baseball legend) Mathias Bable. The Say What:
5-6 basil leaves (spanked then muddled)
2 oz gin (beefeaters)
.75 simple syrup
.75 cranberry shrub (equal parts demerara, apple cider vinegar, fresh cranberry)
.25 lime
Stir down. Serve in a collins over rocks.
Say What? by Mathias Bable
Sparkling water, a midnight snack and some personal notes.
Breakfast came a bit early, we must admit. But it was off to Green Eggs Cafe for a massive breakfast. Lunch was elided for obvious reasons.
Breakfast sticks to your ribs all day long @GreenEggsCafe pic.twitter.com/eVrO4byYrM
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) December 15, 2015
Still wagging our tails over this incredible visit to Philadelphia. Five showerheads and some absolution for Charlie for the Philly Monaco. How will we ever top this visit??
“We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered.”
― Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Back at The Donovan D.C.
December 9, 2015
No fly nöel is not all it’s cracked up to be this year. No airplanes is nice, but local meetings fill the agenda. After one whole week, we’re back in DC, this time at the Donovan. The Donovan is a Kimpton property run by GM Steph Vogel.
1010 at Night
View from the Donovan
No time this trip meant showing up at midnight. Dang. After dinner at Tabard Inn and a nightcap of Japanese Hirsch 16 bourbon at Jack Rose, the water was pretty much essential.
Thank goodness for sparkling water
Some of our favorite Kimpton things (thanks Steph): a glass shower, water, and power by the bed.
Five showerheads for the Donovan and a wish that this trip to DC were not quite so rushed.
The Carlyle in DC
November 23, 2015
We’re back at a Kimpton, and you know how you can tell? Warm greetings by super friendly front desk staff on a cold day, an amenity that includes a cocktail and some charcuterie, and personal notes. All is well in Karma-land. (It does help to have Steph pulling strings and Thomas Fraher on the case.)
Amenity with a manhatten from the Riggsby
We were psyched to try the Carlyle, one of the newest additions to the Kimpton in DC family. DC is a big city and the Kimpton properties reflect that from the upscale George and Palomar, to the more modest Donovan and Carlyle with the quirky Helix somewhere in between. The Carlyle has the added benefit of being close to Dupont Circle.
We’re way spoiled, so you know which end of the food chain we like. But we also like trying new things! We especially like to try new things when we’re one smidgen from our inner circle status. The plan is for this visit to eek us over the finish line.
722
We’re in room 722 which is one of the King rooms with a hilarious little kitchenette. We won’t be boiling any hot dogs this trip, but you never know. DC has a fine restaurant scene these days.
Will we be cooking in DC? Hells no.
722 desk and glass door to the bathroom
Lil blue couch
Open the bathroom door
The diminutive bathroom has a glass shower, so that’s good
Anyway, this is a nice little pod for a quick business trip into the city. For a weekend away, I would move up the Kimpton foodchain to something more fancy pants.
Speaking of food, Fiola Mare on the Potomac less than two miles from the Carlyle is very good indeed. Italian seafood with excellent old school cuisine and a great atmosphere. Our table with a view was very nice indeed as was the Napolitano waiter. Salute!
Prego @FiolaMareDC. Salute! pic.twitter.com/F7GcCyOHIi
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) November 24, 2015
We started and ended the evening at the Riggsby. Devilled eggs and jalapeño tots with a Vieux Carré were a perfect beginning. Returning after dinner we had some hot tea and a Fernet or two.
Tea and fernet with Kevin @theriggsby. Great time with @AmyBarley pic.twitter.com/MA8PS1KMlu
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) November 24, 2015
All around, an excellent evening. Now if only that overzealous housekeeper did not try to clean the room at 9am!
We rate the Carlyle four out of five showerheads. Above average and well worth a visit.
Monaco Pittsburgh Upholds High Style
November 3, 2015
The lobby flowers are upside down. Monaco Pittsburgh.
Last time we visited, things were just getting started—but boy were they great. If anything, everything is even better at the Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh! Rob Malinger (happy bday, rob) is doing a great job.
818 looks pretty similar to 835. The only major difference is the view (835 has one, 818 does not). The rooms are both beautifully styled in any case.
818 Living Room
As always the welcome was Kimpton warm. Great door guys; friendly front desk staff; great amenity delivery people (that would be Marissa).
818 Bedroom
What a spread. Cheese, fruit, sparkling water and a note. Rock it Kimpton!
The bathroom is gigantic and fits the NPS criteria to a T. Any glass shower with a bench in it catches our attention.
This is a fantastic not plastic shower @Kimpton hotel monaco pic.twitter.com/qLaEGrhpwI
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) November 2, 2015
Shower Cubicle
Can’t wait to see how much hot water there is!
The style in the rest of the property is equally impressive. From the living room landing on the first floor…
Living Room Landing Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh
to the upside down flowers in the lobby.
For good espresso, slip across the street to Simpatico (thanks Rachel).
Simpatico coffee
Just to round out PGH, a dinner trip to Altius was very nice indeed. Plenty of interesting dishes. Need some work on their duck, but duck is really hard to get exactly right. The view at night is not to be beat.
Dinner @Altiuspgh. Well worth a visit. pic.twitter.com/lEZDe9tlKn
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) November 3, 2015
Uber cut both ways this trip, and that’s worth a mention. My colleague ordered an uberX to take us up the hill. Not only did the driver take an extra 12 minutes to “spiral in” and pick us up, she was also clearly a smoker who smoked in her vehicle. She got lost and had no clue how PGH is laid out (or, it seems, how to use google maps). The trip to Altius was non-professional and not really worth paying for. By contrast, on the way back the uber driver (uberXL whatever that is) not only knew the city, he was also playing Robert Glasper Trio covering Radiohead’s Reckoner in his spotless car. Uber needs to get its act together.
Then it was back to the Monaco for some nightcaps. The Commoner is uncommonly great as far as a bar program goes. Started by Kenny (now at Forgery in SF) and finished up by Mike Ryan (of sable fame), they have a great thing going here! We were served by the spunky and delightful Patricia Antram who was psyched to play. She mixed up a classic De La Louisiane as follows:
.75 Rye (cask strength)
.75 sweet vermouth (dolin’s would be best)
.75 benedictine
dash peychauds
dash absinthe
stir down. strain into a coup. garnish with spiked cherries.
Patricia also served up one of her own cocktails, Lía Loves Juan (a.k.a., Yellow Swan):
1.75 resposado tequila
.25+ demarara (1:1)
.5 lime juice
BBQ bitters
3 dashes whiskey barrel aged hot sauce
shake. strain into coup. garnish with lime peel.
A quick trip to Pittsburgh is always made difficult by the lack of flights in and out of town, but it’s offset by the very existence of the Monaco. Five showerheads!
Corporate Reprise in the Skies
November 2, 2015
Due to various corporate shenanigans, three of the eleven planned Fall trips were nuked. No Chicago, no Palo Alto, and no Seattle. Sometimes that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
Three trips down!
You know what? It’s kind of nice to see the leaves change colors and fall in the Fall in Virginia anyway!
So though we’re sort of on trip 8 at the moment, it is really only trip 5! Bonus. And two weeks at home were nice, especially with the never ending work pile.
Sadly, the only Virgin America trip was a casualty (as were two Kimpton hotel visits). Collateral damage.
Not traveling does not suck.
Innocence at Highball Lounge
September 24, 2015
Shaher Misif is a dangerous man. But he does feign innocence well.
Does this man look dangerous to you?
Highball Lounge has become quite the fantastic place to have a drink, or to get a tattoo.
Duckie
But it can be dangerous.
2 of 11: Hotel Marlowe in Boston Accidentally Suite
September 22, 2015
Hotel Marlowe: 810
It all started well. United failed to suck. But then Hertz made up for it.
Hotel Marlowe was a welcome respite from the travel nonsense. So nice to be known at a property. Hotel Marlowe is a great place to arrive!
I was assigned 810 (a very nice upgrade with the right kind of shower). But sadly the HVAC situation was untenable even though the welcome was superb. Some great cheese and an actual craft cocktail deconstructed do make you feel welcome.
Bacon and cheese. Plus a note from Joe.
The makings for a craft cocktail. The “Cloak and Dagger.”
Cloak and Dagger
1.5 cask strength bourbon
.75 campari
.75 lillet rouge
stir down. serve up (NOT on the rocks Patrick). Express orange peel (no need to flame) and drop in.
A "cloak and dagger" cocktail from Hotel Marlowe @kimpton. Boston Yankee hone goodness. pic.twitter.com/nOuZEE9V7w
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) September 21, 2015
Then there was the HVAC problem. Not sure what was broken, but something was. Huge noise. In fact the noise seems to be an 8th floor problem. So we were switched over to the presidential suite by the accommodating front desk staff people.
Hey now Joe, why was it that the presidential suite was open again? Trying not to spoil us too much with your immense power? Too late! Busted by information flow!
Anyway, here we are back in 820.
Work was actually done. Room to work is greatly appreciated.
Work. Was. Done.
820 view
In 820 you can hang up your pants
820 shower not plastic
All is well. Did we mention the work that was done?
Then there were the restaurants.
Coppersmith is a new Southy restaurant. It is still working out the kinks. If you’re in for some dive dining (nothing fine about it) give Coppersmith a shot. But don’t expect anything more than a huge warehouse setting, overly chipper 20 year olds, and a model that is still chunky. Clunk.
A much better bet is Craigie on Main which has become the NPS go to restaurant in Cambridge. Just fantastic. Do not miss it. With a superior bar too.
Also very good, but not in the same league as Cragie is Giulia, a nice little Italian high cuisine restaurant that is somehow all the rage. Very stylish main courses outshone the not all that great appetizers. The bar program is likewise decent.
Then there was the Highball Lounge.
Boston at night
Boston at night
1 of 11: The Donovan in Washington, DC
September 15, 2015
General Thomas
Located on Thomas Circle in NW Washington, The Donovan is a Kimpton property in the midst of transformation. Apparently, General Thomas was a Union general.
View from 1010
A warm Kimpton greeting was in store (Steph Vogel runs a tight ship). Room 1010 is very nice.
Have a seat in 1010
Sitting room with a view
Bedroom 1010
View from the glass shower
Not plastic
The rooftop bar has real potential. Ditch the pool and improve the bar selection a notch and this place could cook.
Big plans (spun by Derek himself) to visit Southern Efficiency were thwarted by Monday. What? Eat the Rich was also closed. Because the Derek buildings are all situated next door to each other, Mockingbird Hill became the destination.
The Derek Complex in Shaw
Ultimately, it was nice to ride the sherry bandwagon for a short hitch. Barman Phil made a delicious Old Fashioned with PX that carried chocolate overtones and reminded us of the Old 48. The pork was delicious.
Our next ill-fated Monday night move was to shlep over to Hank’s Oyster Bar for a bite to eat. Maybe it was an off night, but Hank’s was awful. Service was bad. Food was tasteless. Wine was unavailable. Even the oyster order was flubbed by the waiter (who frankly has no business working the front of the house). The storied bar upstairs was improperly staffed. Done with Hank’s. Cross it off the list.
The night ended on a great note thanks to Jack Rose. Fantastic selection of bourbon. Brittney Roberson was an excellent host.
Perhaps some bourbon. @JackRoseinDC pic.twitter.com/7UeMo2xH7M
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) September 15, 2015
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