Entertainment in North America
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San Francisco Opera
SF has been obsessed with opera since the Gold Rush, and it remains a staple on the social calendar. Blue bloods like Ann Getty always book the Tuesday A-series – the best nights to spot fabulous gowns and tuxedos. The gorgeous 1932 hall is cavernous and echoey, but there's no more glamorous seat in SF than the velvet-curtained boxes, complete with champagne service. The best midrange seats for sight lines and sound are in the front section of the dress circle. The balcony has the best sound but you'll need binoculars to see the stage, unless you come on 'Opera Vision' nights, when a huge screen shows the action on stage. (Don't sit directly beneath the flickering…
reviewed
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Chicago Cubs
The Cubs last won the World Series in 1908, but their fans still pack baseball's most charming stadium, Wrigley Field, which dates from 1914 and is known for its ivy-walled field and classic neon entrance sign. For tickets, check the website for deals, or try the box office two to three hours before game time. Take the CTA Red Line to Addison; it's 4.5 miles north of the Loop.
reviewed
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New Jersey Nets
Overshadowed by but better than the Knicks, the Nets play exciting ball, though their closest championship call was being runners-up in the 2002 and 2003 finals. Perhaps what the Nets have needed is a total relocation – which is indeed in the cards. Real estate mogul Bruce Ratner bought the Nets in 2004 and after three years of delays and lawsuits his plan to build a new stadium was finally given the green light in 2009. The controversial $4 billion project will bring an 18,000-seat arena, the Barclays Center, to Brooklyn. The Nets, in the process, are likely to be rechristened the Brooklyn Nets. Construction on the stadium began as this book was being researched, with…
reviewed
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Mandalay Bay
The tropical-themed ‘M-Bay’ fails to match the grandeur of Vegas’ more famous mega-resorts, although high-stakes gamblers will appreciate a classy casino that seems as limitless as the credit line needed to play here. Everything can be a spectacle here, if you only know where to look.
Big-name bands electrify the House of Blues and M-Bay’s events center, catsuit-clad ‘angels’ scale the wine tower at Aureole, and sable fur coats are loaned to enter the frozen vodka locker inside Red Square. Stylish boutique extras include Mandalay Place, a skybridge shopping promenade, and the minimalist modern THEhotel with its lofty Mix bar and bathhouse spa.
M-Bay’s aquatic…
reviewed
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Québec Kebs
The city’s brand-new basketball team, the Québec Kebs play at the 5000-seat stadium of Pavillon de la Jeunesse. In the Atlantic division of the Premier Basketball League, the Kebs play from December through March. Incidentally, the logo of the Kebs (a jumping frog that goes by the name ‘Dunky’) is a still a sore spot for some locals. ‘Frog’ has long been a derogatory name the English have used for French-speaking people and some consider it racist. When the man behind bringing the franchise to Québec City, businessman Réal Bourassa, said the new team name would be either the Québec Jumping Frogs or Kebekwa (how Québécois is pronounced in English), the uproar was heard…
reviewed
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Metropolitan Opera House
New York’s premier opera company, the Metropolitan Opera is the place to see classics such as Carmen, Madame Butterfly and Macbeth, not to mention Wagner’s Ring Cycle. The Opera also hosts premieres and revivals of more contemporary works, such as Peter Sellars’ Nixon in China, which played here in 2011. The season runs from September to April.
Ticket prices start at $30 and can get close to $500. Note that the box seats can be a bargain, but unless you’re in boxes right over the stage, the views are dreadful. Seeing the stage requires sitting with your head cocked over a handrail – a literal pain in the neck.
For last-minute ticket-buyers there are other deals.…
reviewed
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TKTS Booth
Having that much-desired Broadway experience can break the bank – but it doesn’t have to. Thanks to the Theatre Development Fund, an arts advocacy group that sells 2.5 million theater seats annually, you can snag tickets to some of the most coveted seats at up to half the full price. Just head to the Times Sq TKTS booth, which sells cut-rate, same-day tickets to Broadway and off-Broadway shows. For evening shows, queue up from 3pm to 8pm Monday to Saturday; for matinees, line up from 10am to 2pm Wednesday to Saturday and from 11am to 3pm Sunday. A downtown TKTS (cnr Front & John Sts, Lower Manhattan; 11am-6pm Mon-Sat, to 4pm Sun) can be found at the South Street…
reviewed
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Irish Heather
After moving across the street from its original location, the Heather has become a slicker version of its former self. And while not all the old regulars are happy about the upgrade, it's still undeniably one of Vancouver's best gastropubs. Pull up a chair on the bar side – the floor is reclaimed Guinness barrels – and dip into a great list of Irish drafts and international bottled brews. Or head to the narrow room next door where the regular Long Table Series – beer and dinner for under $15 – has become a runaway success. A great spot for charcuterie plates or hearty, homemade fare like bangers and mash or steak and Guinness pie.
reviewed
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Marjorie Eliot
The renowned Eliot offers free jams in her home every Sunday at 4pm in honor of her two deceased sons. Warmly recommended.
reviewed
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Soldier Field
Built between 1922 and 1926 to pay homage to WWI soldiers, this oft-renovated edifice has been home to everything from civil-rights speeches by Martin Luther King Jr to Brazilian soccer games. It got its latest UFO-landing-upon-a-Greek-ruin look in a controversial 2003 makeover. Prior to that, the stadium’s architecture was so noteworthy it was named a National Historic Landmark. Unfortunately, the landmark lacked corporate skyboxes and giant bathrooms, so the city (the venue is owned by the park district) decided it was time for a change. The new look met almost unanimous derision when it was unveiled; critics quickly dubbed it ‘the Mistake on the Lake.’ The landmark…
reviewed
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Cafe Citron
Citron is a festive, Latin-loving lounge with dance-happy crowds who come for salsa, world beats, and ever-flowing pitchers of mojitos and margaritas. With never a cover, there are free salsa lessons on Wednesdays and flamenco shows on Mondays.
reviewed
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Fremont
The Fremont casino hotel has been packing ’em in since 1956, when it opened as downtown’s first high-rise and the tallest building in Nevada. Separating it from the motley pack was wall-to-wall carpeting –almost all of the other nearby casinos still had sawdust floors then. It was here that legendary lounge singer Wayne Newton (aka Mr Las Vegas) launched his career. Despite these firsts, the Fremont has since slipped into mediocrity these days. With its weak tropical motif, the 32,000-sq-ft casino is nothing special, except for its purple felt tables and location in the middle of the Fremont Street Experience which has made it a favorite with many gamblers, not to…
reviewed
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Napoleon House
Just as the best emperors are the deposed ones, the best bars are those that have seen better days. Having opened its doors in 1797, Napoleon House is a particularly attractive example of what Walker Percy termed ‘vital decay.’ By all appearances, its stuccoed walls haven’t received so much as a dab of paint in over two centuries, and the diffuse glow pouring through the open doors and windows in the afternoon draws out the room’s gorgeous patina. The back courtyard is also pleasant, day or night. As an added bonus, the place has a colorful connection to Bonaparte himself: after the emperor was banished to St Helena, a band of loyal New Orleanians reputedly plotted to…
reviewed
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John & Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center
The John & Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center is a sprawling combination of buildings dedicated to preserving and performing the works of the old bard. Appropriately, the center is home to the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival (Sep-May), which is actually a performing group rather than an annual event, and has performances here and at the Lake Eola amphitheater.
Among the center's more notable features, the Darden Courtyard is a leafy yet minimalist spot in which to wander before heading inside for a show. But you'll have to pass through the lobby and the frighteningly large, life-size portrait of Queen Elizabeth - we swear her eyes followed us. There are two theaters: the…
reviewed
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Blue Gin
When it opened a few years back it attracted the likes of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn (in town to shoot the popular movie The Wedding Crashers), instantly putting this trendy cocktail lounge at the top of Washington's hot list. Its residential location, however, means pretty strict conditions liquor-wise and no one under 25 is allowed. As a result the crowd here is more mellow, less worried about the scene than at some of DC's other hip spots.
This doesn't mean Blue Gin isn't a good place for singles; it is. There are two levels. We like upstairs best - it has lots of good-for-sinking couches, plenty of funky sculptures and two bars. If it's crowded, however, getting…
reviewed
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Boston Symphony Orchestra
Near-perfect acoustics match the ambitious programs of the world-renowned Boston Symphony Orchestra. From September to April, the BSO performs in the beauteous Symphony Hall, featuring an ornamental high-relief ceiling and attracting a fancy-dress crowd. The building was designed in 1861 with the help of a Harvard physicist who pledged to make the building acoustically perfect (he succeeded).
In summer months, the BSO retreats to Tanglewood in Western Massachusetts.
reviewed
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Gay Bars & Clubs
What Cherry Grove is to its neighbor the Fire Island Pines, Fort Lauderdale is to South Beach - a little more rainbow-flag-oriented and a little less exclusive. And for the hordes of gay boys who flock here, either to party or to settle down, therein lies the charm. You don't need to be A-list to feel at home at any of the many gay bars, clubs or restaurants, and you won't have any trouble finding 'the scene'.
Fort Lauderdale is home to more than 25 gay bars and clubs, about a dozen gay guesthouses, and a couple of way-gay residential hubs including Victoria Park, which is the established gay ghetto, and Wilton Manors, more recently gay-gentrified and boasting endless…
reviewed
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Little Miss Whiskey’s Golden Dollar
If Alice got back from Wonderland so traumatized by a near-beheading that she needed to start engaging in heavy drinking, we’d imagine she’d often pop down to Little Miss Whiskey’s. She’d love the decor: somewhere between Wonderland’s most whimsical moments of surrealism and the dark nightmares of a lost drug addict, all mixed with a heavy dose of Cure video Goth-Glam. And she’d probably go ape-poo for the excellent beer and whiskey menu, served by savvy bartenders who are hand-picked veterans of the DC nightlife scene. These guys have specifically been selected to run this spot, and as such Little Miss Whiskey’s feels like a bartender’s bar, although to be fair…
reviewed
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Martello Tower 2
Martello Tower 2 is open to the public only during staged events, like the Convict’s Last Drink. This lively interactive theater (in English) gives a taste of 19th-century justice. It features a mock trial of a soldier accused of a crime, and the audience will decide his fate while – and this is the important part – sampling homemade beers. Because alcohol is served, those under 18 must be accompanied by an adult; reserve through the Discovery Pavilion or by phone. A French-language version (La Dernier Verre) takes place at 6:30pm daily (mid-July to early September). Other shows include an ‘1814, council-of-war-style’ feast (adult/child $35/32), during which diners must…
reviewed
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Verizon Center
DC's great big sports arena-cum-big-name-band venue.
reviewed
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Trinity Brewing Co
Inspired by Belgium's beer cafes, the ecofriendly Trinity Brewing Co is an extremely cool addition to the Colorado Springs pub scene. Owned by two self-admitted beer geeks, it serves 'artisanal beers' (made from rare ingredients and potent amounts of alcohol) and has a menu focused on creating a 'Slow Food dining experience based on…environmental sustainability.'
The vegan BBQ sandwiches, spicy Thai curry soup, vegetarian 'chicken wings' and other healthy, organic choices are definitely a departure from usual pub fare (mains $5-8). But don't fret, carnivores: there is some meat on offer. If you're still hungry after dinner, wash your tofu down with a beer float. A 10%…
reviewed
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Blow Buddies
The original owner was a Disney fetishist and set out to recreate, with exacting detail, Disneyland-like attractions, with mazes and specialty-fetish rooms spread over 6000 sq ft of indoor-outdoor warehouse space. It's still the best sex club in town, and hot water, soap and mouthwash are supplied. Sundays around 8pm are best, but other nights can be positively dreary: count coats in the coat-check through the barred window by the entrance to make sure there are at least 30 (call about the Wednesday night fetish parties). Note: no cologne, or they won't let you in.
reviewed
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Dungeon
Got to admit, this place made us a little nervous at first. It doesn’t open till the witching hour, and some of the bouncers have filed their teeth into pointy vampire fangs. Then we observed the words ‘Ye Olde’ in small type on the sign out front. So this is really just ‘Ye Olde Dungeon, ’ which doesn’t sound so threatening after all. Having descended into the club’s basement chambers, we found Goths outnumbered by yuppies and bikers. DJs keep things throbbing until dawn’s early light (egads! sunlight!) and several barkeeps serve up ghoulish cocktails (with creepy names like the Witches Brew and the Dragon’s Blood), which the bar promises will help you ‘leave your…
reviewed
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Bombay Club
‘Why yes Lord Snarkypants, I did indubitably have a very fine martini in the colonies.’ ‘Surely you jest, Sir Tweedybottom! Wherever did you find one?’ Right here, guys. In complete defiance of the Bourbon St jungle, Bombay is a study in Raj-era refinement, all overstuffed armchairs and candlelit tables. It’s about sipping and savoring, rather than guzzling by the gallon, although a few of these bad boys will get you as wild as anyone who’s detonated a Hand Grenade. The list of over 100 martini cocktails, bound in leather, includes all those deadly vodka concoctions that veil the alcohol in frivolous fruity flavors. Of course, you can also order a stiff Churchill model…
reviewed
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Fedex Field
The Redskins play September through January at FedEx Field, but rare is the opportunity to actually see them play here. There is a miles-long waiting list to buy season tickets, so there are never tickets left for individual games. The only exception is when some are returned to the box office by the opposing team, which you can find out about by calling the stadium two or three days before the game. If you have your heart set on seeing the ’Skins in person, online agents will be pleased to sell you tickets with a hefty markup. To get here, drive to FedEx Field by taking the Central Ave exit from I-495, or walk to the field from Morgan Blvd Metro station (1 mile).…
reviewed