Amalfi Hotel Serves More Than Amalfitini

On a snowy and windy Chicago night, Amalfi Hotel greeted us with a wine reception complete with antipasti and a special to the house Amalfitini cocktail. Next morning, after a relaxing sleep in a cozy bed with 315-thread linens, we were treated to a continental breakfast (served on every floor) that attracted disheveled guests in terry cloth robes and slippers, adding to the home away from home feel. Named after the sunny coast of Italy, a family-owned Amalfi is in River North District—a walking distance from the Magnificent Mile, great theaters and fabulous restaurants of Chicago’s gorgeous downtown. Opened in 2004, this luxury boutique hotel caters to business (70%) and leisure travelers with its many amenities and conveniences. “Distinctively pet friendly,” it offers a fitness center, free Internet and iPod station in every room, Wi-Fi in all public areas, and a number of meeting spaces. Small enough to feel cozy, yet large enough to maintain the anonymity of its guests, a six-story Amalfi has 215 rooms with large-screen television sets, DVD players, minibars, and coffee makers. “We don’t nickel and dime you,” said Jose Angulo, Director of Business Development. “Our business and fitness centers are complimentary, opened 24 hours. We have four computers, four printers for the guests’ use; local calls are free. On average, people stay with us 2.7 nights, and we have many repeat customers.” Looking at happy faces during the daily wine reception and watching people make fast friends and chatting merrily over their amalfitinis, it was easy to believe that. To remember this hospitable place better, I’ve asked for a recipe to try it at home, and here it is: Amalfitini. 1 ¼ oz Skyy Vodka, ¾ oz Carevella Limoncello, ½ oz Peachtree Schnapps, ¾ oz Triple Sec, 1 ½ oz White Cranberry Juice. Shaken and served in a chilled martini glass garnished with a fresh peach in season or lemon wedge. More information at www.amalfihotelchicago.com. Photography by Yuri Krasov.

Sofitel Chicago Water Tower

You enter Chicago Sofitel, designed by Jean-Paul Viguier, proceed to the bar of Café des Architectes, and… shed your American identity. Now, voyager, you are a French film heroine on a date with a mysterious stranger (so what if you two have been married for ages). A glass of Bordeaux and a board of briede meaux, longres, and crottin maitre seguin will round up the impression of being transported elsewhere while feeling completely at home. Such is the power of this crystalline polished space with flickering lights, reflective surfaces, and winter décor for the nobly restrained holiday season. “Some say, Sofitel is like a white bride to John Hancock Center in black, and they are kissing in the air,” said Lisa Adelman, a PR and Marketing Manager of Sofitel Chicago Water Tower. Built “around an invisible cone” by Adelman’s description, a 32-story Sofitel extends 52 feet over the street level, creating a fashion-forward look with its simple clean lines. Ample atrium with a grand staircase and a grand ballroom on the third floor provide plenty of room for events big and small. An interior decorator comes in every week to update the tasteful look of the lobby. No wonder bridal parties, weddings, and glamorous holiday outings are crowding the event schedule at the hotel, named after the only historical landmark that survived the great Chicago fire, and built in 2002 on a patch of prime downtown land next to its namesake. “We took chances with colors,” said Adelman. “They are muted, but red, purple, and black—no beige. The presidential suite is in royal blue, black, and cream, with a rotating entertainment center, bathtub with a view, and a suitcase space big enough for Louis Vuitton luggage… Hallways are designed the way that rooms are not straight across from each other,” so if you open your door to pick up a morning paper, there is no danger of giving your neighbor an unintended eyeful. In other words, attention to detail and sincere appreciation for life’s little luxuries makes Sofitel a place to stay with plaisir. Located at 20 East Chestnut Street, Chicago, IL 60611. Call 312-324-4000 or visit www.sofitel.com. Photography by Yuri Krasov.

Chicago, Chicago, My Kind of Town

Traveling to Chicago in winter, however silly it sounds from a Californian point of view, has its perks. It’s a real snow wonderland out there, not glittered cotton puffs in a surfboard store window. The most ambitious downtown in the nation, where the greatest architects’ competition, started in 1885, still continues, looks especially majestic on a starry night, all clad in white (rhymes unintended) with a City Hall Christmas tree, shimmering like a colorful childhood dream. A cup of latte after skating in Millennium park tastes like an elixir of life and restores the body exposed to icy rain, snowstorm, and freezing drizzle—all in 15 minutes time. As they say there, you don’t like Chicago weather? Wait 15 minutes, it’ll change. Comparing to the tanned children of eternal spring, Chicagoans are naturally pasty, but they get those rosy cheeks and that special midwestern warmth from negative temps combined with layers of The North Face wear. For a Bay Area softy, racing from Macy’s (formerly Marshall Field’s, thankfully keeping its traditional holiday decor) to Water Tower Place for some holiday shopping in a blizzard is like climbing Everest. Any public building lures a weary traveler to jump inside and hug the closest radiator. Of those public buildings, Chicago Cultural Center (1897) is a place to start your journey. The first free municipal cultural center in the nation, it’s a living museum of decorative arts with the world’s largest stained glass Tiffany dome, gilded staircase, and marble mosaic atrium. It houses Chicago Office of Tourism, which provides current city brochures, trip-planning advice, hotel reservations, and a free visitor service, Chicago Greeter, with over 40 special interest areas and 25 neighborhoods to explore. “Our greeters are all volunteers,” said Kristin Unger, a charming PR associate with the Office of Tourism. “Tours are offered in 20 languages, and are based on particular visitors’ interests. It can be architecture, food or shopping tour, or a tour of Downtown or Ukrainian Village… a greeter is matched with visitors, so it’s like meeting with an old friend.” There is also a unique InstaGreeter program that does not require an advance reservation. In a friendly city of Chicago there are three of the world’s tallest buildings—Sears Tower, AON Center, and John Hancock Center; world-famous blues and jazz nightclubs; Charlie Trotter and a host of five-diamond restaurant chefs in addition to hundreds of ethnic mom and pop cozy joints [Italian beef sandwich and deep-dish pizza]; the Art Institute of Chicago with the largest collection of Impressionist art outside Musee d’Orsay; Sue—the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex specimen—in the Field Museum; the Chicago River, dyed green every St. Patrick’s Day; Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus; Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate giant mercury drop in the Millennium Park, and so much more—too much to mention here. Find more information and reserve a Chicago Greeter tour at: Chicago Cultural Canter, 77 East Randolf Street, Chicago, IL 60602; call toll-free 877-244-2246; or visit www.cityofchicago.org/tourism; www.chicagogreeter.com. Photography by Yuri Krasov.

The Phantom of the Opera is Here, Inside Your Mind

A lovable Broadway producer (relax, we are talking a TV show here) in “The Nanny” (that old one in its backwater reruns now) says in disbelief and awe, “Andrew Lloyd Webber is God!” Try to argue with that just minutes into “The Phantom of the Opera” at SHN Orpheum Theatre when a shining chandelier, unveiled in the notorious Auction prologue, flies up by pure magic of those shudder-inspiring chords. No matter how many times you hear it, no matter how much effort you apply to not humming along to the unforgettable melodies (and some viewers inevitably fail in that effort) the spectacle of this longest-running Broadway musical is too grand, too powerful—it’s always a revelation. I also love the idea for which Christine Daae’s character stands in the source novel by Gaston Leroux. No, not the idea of self-sacrifice and compassion, not the “pitiful creature of darkness, what kind of life have you known…” My favorite Phantom idea is about a woman caught between love and career—Christine torn between Raoul and the Angel of Music… “Angel of Music, I denied you, turning from true beauty…” Yes, she did turn from her calling, but for a brief moment she knew its power and its glory. (Lyrics by Charles Hart with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe). Great performances by amazingly genuine John Cudia (The Phantom of the Opera), Trista Moldovan (Christine Daae), Kyle Barisich (Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny) and the rest of the well-appointed cast, and generous stage design by Maria Bjornson and the whole production team make this SHN run of the Phantom the best holiday gift imaginable. Please give it to someone you love. The show runs through January 4, 2009 at Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market Street, San Francisco. For tickets and information call 415-551-2000 or visit www.shnsf.com. Photo by Joan Marcus. John Cudia, The Phantom of the Opera at SHN.

MarxFoods Finishing Salts Giveaway

Enter to Win a Flight of Fine Finishing Salts from MarxFoods.com. To throw your name in the hat for the giveaway (it's a random drawing) simply leave a comment on their blog telling which of their seven finishing salts would go the quickest in your kitchen. The collection of salts is valued at $120. Deadline to enter is this Friday, December 5. Go to www.marxfoods.com

First Annual Fabulous Food Festival

Pacific Expositions presented this San Francisco festival last month as if the city needed another gourmet affirmation. Surprisingly, there were some surprises coming out of the booths of 120 exhibitors displaying their wares in more than 20 food categories. Meyenberg Goat Milk Products (www.meyenberg.com) could not serve their cheese and butter samples fast enough, soft and airy cream cheese being their newest and most enticing creation. Oregon Mushrooms (www.oregonmushrooms.com) boasted truffle salt, truffle honey, and everything in-between, including neatly packed dried shrooms of all possible varieties. Think Nutrition dished out Butterfi butter (www.butterfi.com) as melt-in-your-mouth sweet as pure angel breath—too bad you can’t buy it in stores yet. But, you can ask your local store to immediately start stocking up some—with its 3 grams of soluble dietary fiber per serving, and 35% less fat, cholesterol, and salt than regular butter. Weaver’s Coffee and Tea (www.weaverscoffee.com) is all certified organic and fair trade, and it’s also strong, flavorful and yes—energizing! It would be hard to choose between excellent olive oils from Apollo Olive Oil (www.apollooliveoil.com) and Calolea Olive Oil (www.calolea.com), not to mention Sierra Olive Oil (www.sierraoliveoil.com) and California Sunshine Olive Oil Co. (www.calsunoliveoil.com) and jams, jellies, and honeys from multiple producers. Farm Fresh To You (www.farmfreshtoyou.com) offered a sign-up discount for their produce boxes delivery, and I did sign up. (I report after two boxes being delivered: happy not to shop for veggies any more. They just appear on my doorstep forcing me to eat healthier). All in all, with live music, cooking presentations and demos, San Francisco got herself one more reason to celebrate her artful gluttony. Long live Fabulous Food Festival! (www.pacificexpositions.com)