Submitted by morourke@cloud9... on Tue, 10/04/2011 - 14:11
Cool weather + new food tours = just the reason you need to get out and about.
With crisper evenings and shorter days come fourteen—fourteen!—new food tours to revel in, and a mixed bag of other experiences geared toward the guy (or poker-faced gal) in your life. Sample the wares at DC’s Eastern Market or learn the professional’s essentials of grilling; there’s a little something new for everyone this month at Cloud 9 Living.
Foodies, unite.
Now that you won’t faint of heat stroke in the marketplace, it’s time to get out and explore the food scene in these six cities. D.C. With tours in Old Town, Capitol Hill, Eastern Market, Little Ethiopia, & Dupont Circle, everything from Spanish empanadas to zero-filler crabcakes to Ethiopian cuisine (delish, lemme tell you) lies at your fingertips in Washington's own District of Columbia. Richmond. Two new food tours hit the scene in Richmond this month. Sample seafood and house-smoked meats (and much, much more) in the Downtown Norfolk Food Tour, or stroll the Virginia Beach Boardwalk sipping on the city’s home-grown cocktail, snacking on signature dishes and fresh seafood. Indianapolis. The Massachusetts Avenue Food Tour, with a bias toward high-end pub food, takes you through the historic corridor of the Indy city tasting traditional German food, hand-crafted desserts, and an Indy-indigenous sandwich to boot.
Explore Baltimore's historic Fells Point with a new food tour.
Cleveland. The West Side Market Tour gets you in with nationally recognized guides for an up-close experience in this nearly two-century-old market, olive oil, turnovers, and Cambodian specialties included. Baltimore. Choose from four new tours in the country’s largest independent city: latkes, Maryland crabcakes and breweries (among other delights) in historic Fells Point district; oysters, burgers, and the city’s best pizza in Federal Hill; Italian, Jewish and Argentine fare in Little Italy; or an eclectic mix with plenty of history (and pop-overs, apparently) in Annapolis. Minneapolis. The Downtown Minneapolis Food Tourcombines the best of five one-of-a-kind restaurants with the clear, clean city skyline for a City of Lakes tour like nothing else.
Oh, testosterone.
For the Guys.
Breweries, poker, grilling, the Vegas strip--a quick sift through this list brought the guys to mind. Of course, nearly no Cloud 9 experience gift is limited to guys or gals, but something tells me these seven adventures are perfect for the guys in your life—as Christmas gifts for men, birthday gifts, or (here’s to you, early birds) Father’s Day gifts. San Diego Brewery Tour. Just look at this photo (just a little to your left...there you go). Need I say more? Alright--IPAs, porters, you name it, in three selected breweries, with a six-wheel-drive vehicle called a Pinzgauer. Wow. Learn to Fly in Philly. Settle up that lifelong dream. Under professional guidance, learn the basics of flight in a Piper Warrior or Diamond DA-20 with Philly's countryside dwarfed below you. Vegas Strip Food Tour. Technically I should have included this in the food tour section above, but something about the words "Vegas" and "strip" suggested otherwise. Popping into some of Vegas's finest restaurants, recipients witness the sights and sounds of this wild city while getting a taste of the best cuisine. Denver Microbrew Tour.In a city famed for its concentration of microbreweries, how can you go wrong? This walking tour ambles through the Ballpark and LODO historic districts, Rocky Mountain views included, complementing ten different tastings that'll show you a whole new world of beer.
Attention burgeoning cardsharps: Intro to Poker lessons.
Intro to Poker. Practice your poker face in this San Francisco introduction class. Focusing on the popular Texas Hold'em variation, you'll learn strategies and how to read tells and--well, you'll have to see for yourself, now, won't you? Essentials of Grilling. So summer's dwindling--need I remind you that the grill is a trusty year-round cooking appliance? Not to mention a great way to toast your mittens while roasting your dinner? Kick it up a notch and learn the essentials from a pro in this BYOB grilling workshop in San Francisco. A Gentleman's Wine Workshop. Gain a broad understanding of the world of wine, and no restaurant's wine list will ever read like Swahili to you again. With topics like food and wine pairing rules, tips for ordering in restaurants, and how to select at the stores (particularly helpful for those of us with no direction already), you'll walk away with the confidence to fend off those snooty sommeliers.