For some people, food is merely sustenance- fuel that keeps us going. For me, an avid foodie, a good meal is a memorable experience. This year, I was fortunate enough to have sampled some amazing dishes from around the world and have compiled a short list of the top five best food I have eaten in 2019.
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For me, 2019 became a year of globe-trotting and exploration, coupled naturally with a healthy dose of jetlag. In the past months, I have been fortunate enough to travel extensively for work and also in my personal life. I have probably spent a good quarter of the year away from home and exhausted the movie offerings on long-haul flights. As we count down to the new year, here are the top five places I have visited. Favorites, as we all know, are hard to pick so I will be presenting my travel highlights in chronological order.
As the price of Broadway show tickets soars and my luck with digital lotteries deteriorates, my newest strategy is to catch prospective musicals before they make it big on the Great White Way. I am still envious of my friend who caught Hamilton at the Public Theater and thus, avoided paying three-figures to see the show when it transferred to Broadway and became an overnight sensation. I recently gambled on Sing Street, a musical adaption of Irish filmmaker John Carney’s coming-of-age film of the same name. Premiering off-Broadway at the New York Theater Workshop, an incubator for many Broadway hits including Once, Hadestown, and Rent, this new production is fresh with its young talent and memorable pop-rock score. Though the show has all the potential to be the next Broadway cult favorite, it currently struggles to impact with its storytelling and themes. My aversion to spending money is shamefully no secret. Numerous times on this blog, I have discussed my experiences with free events in the city. I wearily waited on the Shakespeare in the Park line at ungodly hours of the morning, fought for a picnic spot at NY Philharmonic’s Concert in the Park, and braved the crowds of cash-strapped New Yorkers at several museums’ Pay What You Wish days. Thus, when the New York Public Library announced Culture Pass, an initiative to provide New Yorkers with free admission to numerous cultural institutions across the city, I knew I had to try it.
What To Know Before You Go Like anything free in New York, Culture Pass has certain restrictions albeit fewer than other free exploits. The program, which launched last year, is available to anyone with a NYPL, Brooklyn Library, or Queens Library card. The good news is signing up for a card is absolutely free! Each cardholder can reserve up to one pass per institution each year. This condition is fairly reasonable given that most people rarely go to the same museum several times a year. While, most passes offer complimentary admission for two people, some museums offer family passes that provide entry for up to four. What would you do when asked to produce a two-hundred-year-old oratorio about Saul, the first king of Israel? You probably would not throw the cast of this biblical story on stage in Rococo outfits nor would you incorporate contemporary dancing a la Alvin Ailey nor would you open the show with a giant, severed head stage center. Yet, the Houston Grand Opera’s (HGO) production of Saul does all this and more in a shocking, sometimes crazy interpretation of Handel’s dramatic tour de force. What more? You cannot look away! I stumbled upon HGO’s unusual production during a recent business trip to the Lone Star state. Having run the gamut of NASA, bars, smokehouses, and even the all-famous rodeo, I found myself looking for something new to do and was recommended to check out city opera. With a reputation of cowboy boots, sprawling land, and ten-lane highways, Houston seemed like an unlikely place to indulge my high-brow hobbies. |
About this BlogA collection of random musings from the mind of a native New Yorker. Be sure to find everything from personal narratives, reviews, lists, and rants. SubscribeCategories
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