Every May, Conde Nast Traveler releases its Hot List, a collection of the best new hotels, spas, restaurants, and nightspots. Check the Daily Traveler every day for a new post from this year's list.

HVN's extravagant setting--nineteenth-century Italian floor mosaics, ornate metallic ceiling, an intricate fresco of bejeweled swamis floating on clouds--feels a bit unreal given Colombo's tumultuous political climate. But then again, gastronomic escapism is nothing new, and the innovative menu at this restaurant inside the swank CASA Colombo offers plenty of distractions. Begin with the signature Ceylonese Triple Shot, made with indigenous ingredients such as kola kanda and rasam, and follow with clever variations on Western dishes such as spicy tuna pol sambal tortillas or jaggery-and-chili-rubbed pork tenderloin. Portions are generous, but it would be a shame to skip the baked chocolate-cappuccino mousse bombe (entrées, $9-$28).

Address: 231 Galle Rd., Colombo 4, Sri Lanka
Tel: 94-11-452-0130

Further reading:
* Hot List 2008

Photo: Amazon.com

by Tom Loftus

I have to admit that praising an e-Book reader in the middle of iPhone Summer seems so 2005, but I'm starting to lust after my wife's Amazon Kindle. She's in the publishing business and someone at her company--bless him or her--decided that money (and trees) could be saved by loading manuscripts onto the Amazon Kindle. Adios clutter.

On a lark I took a look at the screen. Whoa! The words read so clear. I would later learn that the print came courtesy of E Ink, electronic paper that...well never mind. Look it up. Guaranteed many of you will be reading from some form of E Ink or similar technology in the very near future.

I spent more time with the Kindle. I actually curled up with it, playing with font sizes, creating bookmarks, running word searches, and using the built-in dictionary. I did the kind of stuff I couldn't do with a dead tree. 

But here's the thing that makes the Amazon Kindle the most important piece of travel technology since the inflatable neck pillow. Say you're on the road and you suddenly realize that you must have--must have!--Oprah's new book. All you need to do is turn on the Kindle and connect to the store. (The connection is through Sprint's EV-DO network. It's free.) You'll have to pay for the book, but it will be cheaper than the dead-tree version. Or, if you wish, you can download sample chapters for free.

There are some drawbacks to the Kindle's portability. Right now, the wireless download is limited to the U.S. So if you're heading outside the U.S., it makes sense to just pack your Kindle with reading material beforehand. Amazon says that the Kindle can store 200 books. One more drawback: You probably wouldn't want to take this $350+ device to the beach. You don't want sand to get in the works, and besides, placing a Kindle on your head to block out the sun is both ineffectual and rather silly. Stick with dead trees for that. 

Further reading:
* Gear Review: The Sony Reader

Branson brings space to the masses.
Photo: Hotelchatter.com

by Barbara S. Peterson

Paparazzi and VIPS like astronaut Buzz Aldrin gathered at a remote airfield in Mojave, California, this week to witness the unveiling of Sir Richard Branson's latest pet project: a space tourism jet that will blast well-heeled passengers 60 miles above earth when the Virgin Galactic company opens for business some two years from now. The double-hulled gleaming mothership, dubbed WhiteKnightTwo, will be the world's largest all-carbon composite aircraft when it begins flying the Virgin colors to an altitude of about 50,000 feet--at which point it will launch a smaller rocket ship called SpaceShipTwo, which will take six passengers and two pilots on a two-and-a-half-hour thrill ride. The amateur astronauts will experience weightlessness and get some amazing views of earth. (They'll arrive a bit lighter in the wallet, as well: the "fare" for this flight is $200,000.) 

Although his guests came for the historic viewing, Branson couldn't resist the chance to tout his vast travel empire, especially Virgin America, the domestic U.S. airline that's about to mark its first anniversary. Not only did we arrive at the Mojave event on a chartered Virgin America A320 from LAX--bearing the slogan "My Other Ride Is a Spaceship"--but also the airline's loyalty program members have a chance to earn a seat on a Virgin Galactic flight. 

Austin skyline from Lake Mead.
Photo: Concierge.com

by Julia Bainbridge

Before this summer, I'd never set foot on Texas soil. Now, though, I've planted both feet firmly in Houston and Austin--I've even stood in front of the Texas State Capitol at sunset (impressive dome, I must say). And I fell for Austin like Lucy fell for Ricky: it was hot, it was weird, it coaxed me back for another visit in three weeks. (Longhorns are growing from my temples as I type.)

This weekend was a full-blown Austin eating, drinking, and shopping fest. I started off with a roaring-big plate o' smoked meats at the Salt Lick, a stone ranch kind of place a handful of miles from town in Driftwood. This is true Hill Country, folks. The BBQ bonanza started after I watched a stream of about 1.5 million bats fly out of their home under the Congress Avenue Bridge (it was dinnertime for them, too).

Saturday, I caught a light lunch at Zocalo (thanks to a suggestion from Food & Wine magazine's fabulous deputy wine editor, Ray Isle) and a flick at the Alamo Drafthouse. This theater warrants an "amazing": I enjoyed all two and a half hours of The Dark Knight while sipping on the Alamo's house-brewed amber ale, which waitresses brought right to my table. Yes, my table. (Check the DT later this week for a nationwide roundup of vintage-y, full-service movie theaters.)

Fern Tree's healing treatments
are concocted from natural ingredients.

Every May, Conde Nast Traveler releases its Hot List, a collection of the best new hotels, spas, restaurants, and nightspots. Check the Daily Traveler every day for a new post from this year's list.

Despite its gargantuan size (68,000 square feet), Fern Tree Spa in Montego Bay has the feel of a much smaller place. Many treatments were designed by "spa elders," a term that evokes gray-haired soothsayers but really just means those steeped in Jamaican remedies, traditions, and indigenous ingredients. Elders prescribe a wellness plan of therapies in private consults--or guests can create their own: Our correspondent eased into a soothing Jamaican Bush Bath ($55), then revved up with the Jamaican Green Coffee Envelopment ($195), which uses Blue Mountain coffee to perk up fatigued skin. You could literally get lost on the spa grounds, with its labyrinth that includes a yoga studio, a pool, and a sculpture garden (massages, $115).

Tel: 866-648-6951

Further reading:
* Hot List 2008
* The Jamaica Guide

I don't hate airlines' seat-back TVs,
I just hate the ads.
Photo: Globalgiants.com

by Brook Wilkinson

I took my first flight on Frontier Airlines not too long ago. The crew was great, and the flights arrived on time, but I have one major complaint: I was forced to watch advertisements throughout the entire flight. They scrolled continuously across the seat-back screen, a mere eight inches from my face, nearly impossible to ignore.

You've probably read the recent articles about ads on tray tables and even boarding passes, but I find the video advertisements most insidious of all. Frontier lets them play constantly, unless you slide your credit card and cough up several bucks for their DIRECTV service. Should you prefer to read a book or, say, a magazine, good luck my friends. It's hard to ignore flashing stimuli at such close range, and you can't close your tray table or put away your boarding pass to make it stop. In fact, there's no clear method of turning off the screen.

Cheer up. About half an hour before landing on our return flight, my boyfriend figured out how to turn those infuriating screens off: Press the "brightness down" button until the screen eventually goes black. Then, finally, you can read your brand-new copy of Condé Nast Traveler's August issue in peace.

Hodges and her new neighbor
friends party with the bodega box.

by Mollie Chen

When I moved from a high-rise doorman building to a cute prewar West Village walk-up, my ever-optimistic father anticipated that I would soon have five floors' worth of acquaintances who I could call upon for a cup of sugar or the name of a good locksmith. It's been over a year now and my interactions with my neighbors are limited to hearing the woman across the hall feeding her cats ten times a day and feeling walls vibrate from the musician practicing upstairs. "Met anyone in your building yet?," my dad asks periodically. Nope.

Kit Hodges wasn't necessarily thinking about my empty sugar canister when she founded the Neighbors Project in 2006, but she was reacting to the disturbing disconnect she saw between people and their communities. From Miami to Dubai, architects and New Urbanism disciples are looking for ways to combat suburban sprawl and faceless gentrification. Even in Beijing, a city that notoriously razed its hutongs to make way for new buildings, there is a demand for some form of a neighborhood. (Only there, it takes the form of architect Steven Holl's soaring "Linked Hybrid" complex, eight skyscrapers linked by floating pedestrian walkways.)

For Hodges and the Neighbors Project, the solution is simple: small changes delivered with humor and irreverence. Run by unpaid volunteers in Chicago and San Francisco, as well as a nationwide board, the organization offers small, fun ways to get to know the people across the hall, street, or alleyway--and to work together to improve your collective living space. To wit, there are checklists of neighborly things that everyone from renters to condo boards can do, ranging from creating local gardens and throwing sidewalk sales to organizing a building-wide listserv.

Sky Lodge's prime location
on Main Street.

Every May, Conde Nast Traveler releases its Hot List, a collection of the best new hotels, spas, restaurants, and nightspots. Check the Daily Traveler every day for a new post from this year's list.

When the Sky Lodge opened in December on a choice lot on the corner of Main Street and Heber Avenue, it laid claim to being the most luxurious digs in this former mining outpost. The six-story, 33-suite property rises above its Victorian neighbors, and its "mountain loft" aesthetic turns the archetypal ski lodge on its head, starting in the reception lounge with its expansive concrete fireplace. When you come in off the slope, attendants sweep your skis into the locker room, and glass elevators zip you up to your floor. The one-, two-, and three-bedroom suites are drenched in natural light, while sleek furniture in red-orange hues highlights hand-planed wood floors, and abstract paintings hang above in-wall fireplaces framed by rusted steel girders. DVD players and Bose sound systems are standard, and sliding wall panels open to the master bath, the centerpiece of which is a soaking tub that's filled by a ceiling-mounted faucet. The concierge can stock the pantry of your state-of-the-art kitchen, though there are many reasons to eat out: Sunset hors d'oeuvres and drinks are served in the SkyClub, which opens to a heated deck with fire pit, ten-person hot tub, and 360-degree views. Three of Park City's most popular restaurants, including Robert Redford's Zoom, are here, and Main Street's abundant dining and shopping scenes are steps away. Don't stay up too late--early-morning avalanche blasting is your wake-up call, and shuttles to all three Park City-area resorts will whisk you away for first tracks.

Address: 201 Heber Avenue, Park City
Tel: 435 658 2500, 888 876 2525

When to go: Wintertime is tops--Park City averages 355 inches of snow annually.
Which room to book: Odd-numbered rooms on the fourth floor overlook Main Street and the mountains, views made all the more enjoyable by decks with two-person hot tubs.

Further reading:
* Sky Lodge Web site
* Hot List 2008
* The Park City guide

Obama in Berlin.
AP Photo

by Guy Martin

Despite the fact that they hate us, they do really, truly love us, you know? 

Put another way, Western Europeans--meaning the English, the French, and the Germans--want to love America and Americans, but kind of can't right now. Because, as we know, we suck. Or more precisely, our policies of the last few years haven't squared with what Europeans formerly loved so much about us, namely, our magnificent Constitution, our hard-fought, ingrained practice of civil liberties, our embrace and celebration of our thoroughly "American" immigrant past.   

Instead, they're making up for not being able to love us generally by loving one of us--namely, Barack Obama--intensely.   

Bounding off last week's extraordinary turnout for his speech in Berlin, Obama's popularity in Europe--he's now approximately at the level of the Hard Day's Night-era Beatles--took on an even deeper hysteria as he wound up his tour last weekend. 

Screaming crowds waited outside Elysée Palace for a glimpse of the lean, dark-suited candidate heading to and from his meeting with French president Nicholas Sarkozy. A remarkably starstruck Sarkozy--a man who himself has a well-documented extra oomph with certain women--said, "We agree on everything. When I met him two years ago, neither one of us was president. Now all that remains is for the other one to get there."   

Hey, wait a minute, man! You don't vote in our elections, do you? 

Or do you? Because this is starting to feel a little invasive, as if Europe had already crowned the man, not the Democratic Party. 

What Jasinski does off the bike.

by Mollie Chen

Scheduling meetings on Fridays is usually anathema for me, but last week I made an exception because Denver chef Jennifer Jasinski was in town. The Santa Barbara native has two of the city's most popular restaurants: Rioja and Bistro Vendôme.

Jasinski and co-owner Beth Gruitch didn't disappoint, filling me in on all the preparations for Denver's upcoming Democratic National Convention, plus their favorite hometown spots from Japanese izakaya dens to sleazy dive bars. (FYI: Some of those spots? Sushi Sasa, Duo, Wazee Supper Club, and Izakaya Den.) With Obamafest about a month away, the city is scrambling to pull things together. For Jasinski and Gruitch that means planning parties, fielding calls from desperate reservation-seekers, and figuring out how they're going to get to work once the DNC effectively shuts down the city center. The last part is simple: bike.

The two are already devoted to two-wheel transport, logging six-mile bike commutes every day and planning a cycling (and eating) tour of Spain in 2009. They're big fans of Mayor John Hickenlooper's "Freewheelin" initiative, which will place almost 1,000 bikes around the city for anyone to use. "It's the most practical way to get around," says Jasinski, "and Denver has beautiful rides along the river and through town." After hours, however, the chef and her crew have been known to do bike bar crawls--margaritas being their poison of choice. (You might find them at Lola, Pour House, Red Square, or Lancer Lounge.) Stay tuned to Daily Traveler for an August post on more Denver restaurants and drinking holes--and the best way to experience them, wheels or no wheels. 

Further reading:
* Or viewing, rather: Jasinski's recent CBS Early Show appearance

Vegas: My new partner in
non-gaming fun

by Ondine Cohane

I have an ambivalent relationship with Las Vegas. On the one hand it isn't the kind of destination I usually fall in love with: it's more artifice than natural beauty, more about overstimulation than being a true getaway. On the other hand, I definitely have had some fun trips there, especially as the food (Daniel Boulud, Joël Robuchon, Bobby Flay, Charlie Trotter and Mario Batali are among the celeb chefs with outposts here), shopping, and spa offerings have seriously improved in the last few years. (I particularly like the pool scene at the Hard Rock, the stores at the Venetian, and Joël Robuchon and Nobu for great meals.)

One hotel that's new this year and that I haven't had a chance to check out yet is the Palazzo, yet another one-stop behemoth that does excess like only Vegas can--seven pools, a Canyon Ranch spa (with a 40-foot climbing wall), and over 3000 suites. I can imagine doing some serious shopping with Anya Hindmarch, Barneys, Catherine Malandrino, Christian Louboutin, Michael Kors, and Tory Burch among the luxe labels at the Palazzo's shops and eating at Restaurant Charlie (another Trotter eatery) and Carnevino (Batali's steakhouse). The funny thing is, when I look at these restaurant and store names I realize that part of the reason I like going to Vegas now is because I can actually forget that I am in the gaming capital of America. There is plenty of other distraction and since city will get still get my cash in other ways, I guess it works out for both of us.

Further reading:
* Palazzo made Conde Nast Traveler's 2008 Hot List
* Will this city save us all?

by Citizen Sigmund

Oddly, I've always found in-flight mealtimes a welcome distraction--even a little fun. Maybe it's the element of surprise (chicken or fish?), or all the little individually wrapped items to pick apart and sample. But inevitably, once you get past the novelty of opening everything, the taste is highly disappointing. Luckily, I have a new solution.

While poking through all the travel-friendly goodies at Flight 001, I came across the Organic Mobile Foodie Kit, an assortment of spices to give an otherwise bland meal some flavor. The kit has everything from curry to cinnamon to a mini bottle of Tabasco. There are 18 options to turn your meal around, all tucked into a slim case smaller than a magazine. The handy key makes sure you don't accidentally add, say, wasabi powder to your spaghetti when you were really going for basil.

Aside from the "foodie's ray-of-hope kit," as I have come to think of it, Flight 001 is full of useful products to keep you feeling refreshed during your flight, as well as practical items such as toothbrush caps and stylish luggage tags. I highly recommend the Laundrymat Pak for those prone to getting messy with the Tabasco.

In mourning.

* Leopard v. croc in photos.
* Good news: World's first $1 million vacation is still available.
* A loud bang, but the airline's streak of never losing a plane continues.
* Showers coming to first-class flyers on Emirates. Coach gets the garden hose.
* Big, big photos of Beijing 2008 preparations.

What's your flavor?

by Barbara S. Peterson

Amid all the new fees and policy changes airlines are inflicting on their customers this summer, the process of going through security is getting more, er, interesting. The Transportation Security Administration is testing a new concept that allows travelers to select a particular lane to stand in, based on their experience or needs. Currently in use at 21 airports, the system is designed to give frequent fliers, who presumably know their way around the security drill, a way to bypass a line clogged with inexperienced fliers. 

The TSA apparently sees the traveling public in three basic flavors: "expert" (designated by a black diamond icon like those you see on ski slopes); "casual," meaning somewhat experienced; and "family/special needs." But as this whole idea depends on people's ability to rate themselves honestly--and let's face it, no one wants to end up in the longest lane--the system may not run as smoothly as the TSA intends. In fact, the other day, when I was at Kennedy Airport, a few travelers stopped to read the "What's Your Lane?" signs TSA had posted around the terminal to explain the routine, and many appeared to be befuddled by the new designations.

The Germans want him too.
Photo: Miguel Villagrano/AP

by Guy Martin

German dailies don't often Photoshop pictures of their nation's very, very white and overwhelmingly male politicians. In fact, it's safe to say that they never publish pictures of their politicians in . . . well, in a sort of blackface. Period. It's Germany, okay? Joint's lilly-white! Everybody's scared of the whole skin-tone thing, even as satire.

Or . . . not.

Yesterday morning, 12 hours before Barack Obama's groundbreaking political rally in Berlin--attended by 215,000, the highest-ever turnout for a political purpose in the country since the reunification demonstrations and rallies in 1989--the Bild Zeitung, Germany's largest daily, published a banner gallery of five heavily Photoshopped German politicians. The editors gave them all the trademark Obama crew cut and café-au-lait complexion. 

The notion was: We need more dudes like him. The headline was: "Bring us a little more fun in politics!"

Helen Mirren rules in red.
Photo: TeamSugar

by Beata Loyfman

Summer in Hollywood means just one thing (well, two if you count the terrible sequels), and that's skin. Anyone who's anyone (from A- to Z-listers) is busy showing off his trainer's mettle. There's George Clooney in all his Lake Como fabulousness, there are Eva Longoria and Tony Parker celebrating their anniversary in Italy, and there's 74-year-old Giorgio Armani donning his best Speedo in Sardinia. (Thanks for the close-ups Socialite Life.)

So what do these celebs have in common, besides really good dermatologists? They're all jetting on the Mediterranean aboard schwanky boats. And just because you don't graze the cover of People's Sexiest Man Alive issue or earn seven figures for tossing a ball into a hoop doesn't mean you can't sail in style.

And luckily, you have a secret weapon of the seas: For the August issue of Condé Nast Traveler the assiduous Wendy Perrin has picked the top sailing specialists in the country, and the best cruises for every type of personality, from nature lover to party animal.

And if the winds happen to bring you toward the tip of Italy's heel, look out for Dame Helen Mirren (that's Her Majesty to us mortals) in her red bikini. Crusades have been mounted for less.

With the help of an Eye-Fi wireless SD card I can share and geotag a photo of the FDR skate park in Philadelphia.

Tired of straining to view photos on his digital camera's tiny LCD screens and sick of losing spontaneously snapped cell-phone pictures to cell phones gone by, Alex C. Pasquariello examines the wireless ways to upload images to his computer and the Web.

The promise of Eye-Fi's wireless SD cards would seem much too complicated and functional to come to fruition in a normal-sized memory card. But pop it into any old digital camera saving to an SD card, snap a photo, and the camera wirelessly uploads its stored pictures to a Windows or Mac OSX computer. It also will put your memories in the cloud, uploading them to whatever photo-sharing site you use. If that site supports geotagging, your antics will show up plotted on a map, retracing your every move. And again, all with an SD card--no longer, thicker, or wider than the one you're using now.

Seems too easy, right? I tested out the wireless SD card last Sunday in Philly. One of my favorite things to do on the road is hit up the local skate spots, so I started my morning at the legendary FDR in South Philly's Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park. This skater-funded and -built course curls in, around, up, and down the supports elevating I-95 (a.k.a. the Delaware Expressway). (The graffiti scrawled on the banks and walls, alone, are worth the shot.)

From there I headed north to South Street and one of the City of Brotherly Love's true gems, Magic Gardens, where it would be impossible to take a bad picture.

Plotting his move: You never
know what Syntek might do next.
AP Photo

by John Oseid

A few years ago I had a Latin pop duet about love and heartbreak rattling around my head for weeks--couldn't shake it. Spanish singer Ana Torroja's helium-balloon vocals on the chart-topping "Duele el Amor" were dangerously saccharine. And I loved it. I found out that "Duele" was off Aleks Syntek's 2004 album Mundo Lite and I rushed out and bought it; the video shows off his catchy guitar work.

The Mexican pop-rock phenomenon puts on a thrilling live show I discovered the other night at the Highline Ballroom, downtown Manhattan's newest music space. Syntek wears nerdy-cool glasses as an homage to his idol Elvis Costello, while his cerebral and ironic stage persona suggests David Byrne. One minute the musical chameleon was wearing a cowboy hat and strumming a banjo, the next he was tweaking out electronica beats on a keyboard. He even made like a lounge singer under a twirling disco ball.

Berry picking in Tanzania.

by Sara Tucker

I was brought up to eat what's on my plate, so when some Hadzabe bow hunters once offered me a bite of their roasted bushbaby, I accepted. Dessert was bee larvae. But to be honest, when it comes to wild food, I prefer plants. That's why I was so excited to learn that in Vermont, where I live now, there's a school where you can learn all about edible wild plants from expert foragers. Vermonters are very big on this type of food, which is nutritious, plentiful, and free. Dandelions, fiddleheads, milkweed, stuff like that. Plus, foraging is a nice excuse for a walk, which is what I had been doing with my Hadzabe friends--enjoying the scenery. (The bushbaby was an unexpected extra.) Combining slow food with slow travel makes obvious sense, so on Friday I plan to mosey up to South Woodbury, Vermont, to check out this place. I'll let you know what I find. If you're in Vermont this summer, you might see what's on the menu at one of my favorite restaurants, Hen of the Wood, which is named after a wild mushroom. The restaurant is in a converted grist mill in Waterbury, and the last time I was there, I ate wild leeks for the first time. They were tastier than bushbaby, and I wasn't haunted by their little faces and big eyes.

Further reading:
* Wisdom of the Herbs School Web site.
* Vermont foragers Nova Kim and Les Hook will teach a workshop at Shelburne Farms on August 3.
* These plants are NOT food.
* New York City's best-known forager was once arrested for eating a dandelion.
* Tennessee's Smoky Mountain Field School hosts edible plant workshops in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

by Mollie Chen

This past weekend, despite the sweltering weather, my friend Rob and I went on a 22-mile bike tour of Brooklyn. (Those of you who know me will be impressed that I survived this adventure without injuring myself or anyone around me. And yes, I wore a helmet.) While this in and of itself is amazing, what's more useful to you is my new discovery: Burt's Bees Res-Q Lip Balm.

I'm pretty good about wearing sunscreen but I always forget that lips (and the tops of your ears, as I learned the hard way) can burn, too. I'm obsessed with the all-natural brand's latest balm, which is the first to have SPF 15. The heavy-duty formula stays put, moisturizes with beeswax, and, best of all, doesn't taste like sunscreen. Bring on the outdoor adventures.

Imagine spending thousands on your first cruise only to discover that what you thought would be a romantic celebration of your wedding anniversary, was, in actuality, a Motley Cruise. Or for that matter, visualize, if you will, boarding your ship ready to party only to discover that your fellow passengers prefer lectures on Byzantine metalwork and a 9 p.m. bedtime. Finding the right ship matters. As a special service, we've put together a Cruise Ship Finder application. Tell us what kind of "cruiser" you are--Foodie, Sybarite, Night Owl, etc.--and we'll try to match you up with the right ship. You'll find the application on our newly launched Facebook page. You need to be a Facebook member to use it. Signing up is free, but if you really can't be bothered with all this new-fangled online social blather you can read all our ship descriptions in Conde Nast Traveler's newly launched Cruise special report. Happy cruising!

Cool contrasts at Black Pearl.

Every May, Conde Nast Traveler releases its Hot List, a collection of the best new hotels, spas, restaurants, and nightspots. Check the Daily Traveler every day for a new post from this year's list.

Anchored on a hushed brick-paved street in Eilandje, Antwerp's up-and-coming harbor-edged neighborhood, this converted warehouse is worth the game of hide-and-seek required to locate it. Owned by a former male model, the rectangular space is a seductive antidote to the city's heaving techno clubs: backlit abstract blond-wood sculptures, black walls, and gold twig chandeliers that glitter above an African wenge-wood bar. Local fashionistas and savvy Europeans nosh on tasty finger food such as crunchy homemade loempias and move to a DJ-spun mix of house and jazz. Try the Crack Daddy, a champagne, vodka, and grenadine concoction topped with strawberry seeds.

Address: Braziliëstrat 12A
Tel: 32-3-232-2669

Further reading:
* Hot List 2008
* Black Pearl's Web site

The otherwise beautiful scene
of the snob.

by Mollie Chen

Last October I attended a farm dinner at Brentwood's Knoll Farm, where I was seated next to the president of a regional Slow Food convivium. Initially excited to share the experience with someone so obviously in love with the farm-to-table concept, I was quickly turned off by his, how do you say, pompous attitude. After about two courses of listening to the Italian expat go on about how Americans don't know anything about appreciating food and living properly, I picked up my glass of biodynamic wine and moved to the far end of the table.

Despite that unfortunate run-in with a Slow Food snob, I am little-kid excited about Slow Food Nation, a three-day bonanza happening in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend. It's more than just a big party with great food and top chefs. As Kim Severson points out in her thoughtful New York Times article this morning, Slow Food Nation is a chance for the organization to reinvigorate itself and expand its influence and appeal.

Since coming over to the United States a decade ago, the movement has been criticized for everything from its supposed lack of socioeconomic diversity to its stance against technology to its good old-fashioned elitism. Which is why all eyes are on the upcoming 50,000-person Bay Area party and its potential to catalyze a major good food movement. As for me, I'm planning on checking out some of my local Slow Food NYC events--perhaps August 6th's Greenmarket mixology class at Astor Center? Because there's no better way to win new converts than with tasty cocktails.

Solage's Solbar restaurant.

Every May, Conde Nast Traveler releases its Hot List, a collection of the best new hotels, spas, restaurants, and nightspots. Check the Daily Traveler every day for a new post from this year's list.

After populating Napa Valley with a series of romantic retreats, Auberge Resorts lets loose with an eco-luxe escape for the stylish, hybrid-driving, biodynamic wine-swilling set. This 89-room resort underwhelms at first glance simply because the stand-alone studios are surrounded by scrubby young plantings instead of more mature vegetation. But that is the one weak point of this otherwise polished property. After settling in for a few hours, you feel as though you are ensconced in a sweet utopia, where guests bicycle to morning yoga, nibble on fruit and granola at the open-air Solbar restaurant, and lounge by the long pool lined with sago palms. The homey, light-filled guesthouses are done in cooling taupe and sage tones and have huge slate-floor bathrooms, spare dark-wood furniture, complimentary bicycles, and shaded patios (which will be infinitely more appealing once the trees grow in to afford more privacy). The service is helpful and practiced, and there are fun details such as welcoming cupcakes and full-sized coffeepots and bathroom amenities.

When to go: Early fall, for the grape harvest and perfect 70-degree sunny days.
Which room to book: The Capella Suite has a private patio with a hot tub, and its massive living room is anchored by a fireplace.

Address: 755 Silverado Trail, Calistoga, CA
Tel: 866-942-7442

Further reading:
* Solage Web site
* Hot List 2008
* How about a San Francisco Great Drive while you're at it?

Perhaps this is a safer bet?
AP Photo

by Tom Loftus and Julia Bainbridge

Next time you pack for an island vacation, you might want to think twice about what sunblock you throw in your bag. The New York Times reported on a study from an organization called the Environmental Working Group that questioned sunscreen safety--mainly because of an ingredient called oxybenzone.

The Environmental Working Group tested nearly 1,000 sunscreen products and found that four out of five either offered skimpy protection or contained ingredients that posed possible health risks. 

The Times noted some disagreement.

But dermatologists who reviewed the group's research say the biggest problem is that it lacks scientific rigor. In particular, they are critical of a sunscreen rating system that they say is arbitrary and without basis in any accepted scientific standard.

The Times article also said:

Another study, published two years ago in Free Radical Biology and Medicine, raised troubling concerns about what happens when sunscreen is absorbed into the skin and reacts with the sun. The report suggested that under certain conditions, sunscreens with oxybenzone and other ultraviolet filters could lead to free-radical damage to the skin, a process that in theory could lead to skin cancer. The study used laboratory models of skin, so some researchers say it is not a reliable indicator of what happens in people.

In the end, it looks like doctors still recommend applying (and re-applying) sunscreens with a high SPF. Keep in mind, though, that this is only one way to protect your skin.

"People focus so much on sunscreens," Dr. Morison said. "It should be a package of protection. A hat, staying out of the sun, avoiding the hottest part of the day, and covering up are all part of the whole story. It's not just the sunscreen."

Amen to that.

Further reading:
* "Sunscreen Safety Is Called Into Question"
* "Sunscreen Summary--What Works and What's Safe"
* The FDA aims to upgrade sunscreen labeling
* The CDC's breakdown of oxybenzone, a toxic sunscreen chemical