Pickett’s asks Why Drink 1 Ginger Beer When You Can Have 16?
A good ginger beer is tasty and refreshing, but why have just one when you can have 16? That’s the question Pickett’s Ginger Beer asks, and answers.
TasteTV Gift Guide: One-of-a-Kind Collectible When You have a $1,000,000 Budget
This $790,000 home decor centerpiece is great for the tech or real estate millionaire who has everything, including the extra display space to fit it.
LA Celeb Lisa Vanderpump opens Vanderpump Cocktail Garden in Vegas
If you like Lisa Vanderpump‘s style and taste at her bars & restaurants in Los Angeles, or on Bravo TV’s “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and “Vanderpump Rules,” then you’re going to love her new place in Las Vegas.
Lisa Vanderpump and Caesars Palace have partnered to open Vanderpump Cocktail Garden, to bring a taste of Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
THE CONCEPT
The cocktail garden takes a page from Vanderpump’s highly successful restaurants and lounges, Villa Blanca, SUR, Pump and Tom Tom. “I have always loved Las Vegas –it has always been a dream of mine to see our brand in lights at the iconic Caesars Palace,” said Lisa Vanderpump. “Vanderpump Cocktail Garden combines the sexy atmosphere of our other establishments injected with the Vegas energy that brings millions of guests who visit year after year.”
“Caesars Palace has a long history of working with notable names; from renowned chefs to legendary music icons—we’re proud to now partner with Lisa Vanderpump to bring her first venture to Las Vegas,” said Caesars Palace regional president, Gary Selesner. “We look forward to Vanderpump bringing Los Angeles flair combined with the extravagance of the Strip.”
THE DESIGN
Marrying natural elements with industrial touches, Vanderpump Cocktail Garden has an indoor patio welcoming guests upon arrival, transporting them to an al fresco-style garden with towering trees and romantic lighting. Inside, the romantic elements continue, including Lisa’s signature touches of pink, with contrasting masculine details. The lounge area will feature booths as well as a full bar that focuses on craft cocktails, Vanderpump branded Sangria and Rosé as well as a carefully selected wine list. Small bites will be available to be shared or perfectly paired with libations.
Vanderpump Cocktail Garden‘s design inspiration for the space comes from Lisa, husband Ken Todd and creative director Nick Alain, who collaborated on their newest LA hit, Tom Tom. Vanderpump is located in between The Colosseum and the entrance to The Forum Shops (starting in 2019).
ABOUT LISA VANDERPUMP
Businesswoman, TV personality, author, and philanthropist, Lisa Vanderpump hails from London, England. Lisa and her husband Ken Todd have been entrenched in the restaurant and nightclub industry since they started their partnership over 30 years ago. Their four very successful restaurants and bars in Los Angeles (SUR, Villa Blanca, PUMP and Tom Tom Restaurant and Bar) are just a peek into their joint ventures; Vanderpump Cocktail Garden will mark their 35th restaurant and bar. Vanderpump has most recently become known for the hit Bravo TV series, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, as well as her spinoff show Vanderpump Rules, of which she is an Executive Producer. Her unique mix of sparkling glamour and down-to-earth style has appealed to thousands of viewers. Additional endeavors include: “Vanderpump Beverly Hills” tabletop collection, the “Vanderpump Estate Jewelry” Collection, a pet accessories line at VanderpumpPets.com and a soon to be released fine jewelry collection. Vanderpump also has her family’s signature Vanderpump Vodka, Vanderpump Rosé and LVP Sangria. In 2017, Lisa and Ken launched The Vanderpump Dog Foundation to help end animal abuse on both an international and domestic level, which opened the doors to its first rescue and adoption center last year.
LA Celebrities Bieber, Baldwin, Selena and the Kardashians get their Caffeine Fix
As lifestyle oriented as many of them are, apparently caffeine from their favorite local spots is a mandatory choice for well-known A-List celebrities in Los Angeles. This is illustrated by snapshots provided by Alfred Coffee and Alfred Tea Room, showing celebs strolling the streets with a cup in their hands.
These include Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin making out in line in Studio City, Kourtney Kardashian stopping in for her daily matcha on Melrose Place, Kendall Jenner heading to an appointment, and J.Lo grabbing a coffee for the road when she comes to town.
It also means that if you’re into star-spotting as well as coffee or tea-drinking, you know where to start.
California and Texas have the Toughest Restaurant Reviewers
If you thought the toughest peer restaurant reviews would be in New York or Chicago, you would be wrong. They are in California and Texas, specifically in Austin, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. These are results from a study commissioned by Home Run Inn Pizza and analyzed by Digital Third Coast.
The study used Eater.com’s “38 Essential” lists and analyzed 4,000 data points across Google, Yelp, Facebook and TripAdvisor to better understand the rankings and platforms that the average person reads reviews on before making their decision to visit a business or not.
What they found was that California and Texas have some of the toughest and most critical reviewers, although New Yorkers and Chicagoans are definitely the most opinionated.
Overall Rankings:
· Highest ratings: Facebook review
· Lowest ratings: Yelp
· Highest number of reviews: Yelp
· Lowest number of reviews: TripAdvisor
Toughest Crowd: (Average ratings across Google, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor. #1 being the hardest to please, #25 being the easiest to please)
1. Austin
2. Houston
3. Los Angeles
4. San Francisco
5. Washington, DC
6. New York
7. New Orleans
8. Montreal
9. London
10. Dallas
11. Chicago
12. Nashville
13. Twin Cities
14. Paris
15. Atlanta
16. Miami
17. Portland
18. Las Vegas
19. Detroit
20. Philadelphia
21. Seattle
22. San Diego
23. Boston
24. Denver
25. Charleston
Most opinionated crowd: (Average number of reviews across Google, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor)
1. Chicago
2. New York
3. San Francisco
4. Las Vegas
5. New Orleans
6. Washington DC
7. Los Angeles
8. San Diego
9. Nashville
10. Houston
11. Portland
12. Austin
13. Miami
14. Charleston
15. Atlanta
16. Detroit
17. Twin Cities
18. Philadelphia
19. Dallas
20. Boston
21. Montreal
22. Seattle
23. Denver
24. Paris
25. London
(#1 the highest number of reviews, #25 fewest reviews)
For more details, visit Chicago-based Digital Third Coast
San Francisco and Puerto Vallarta become Sister Cities
PUERTO VALLARTA AND SAN FRANCISCO JOINED IN ‘SISTERHOOD’
US Mexico Sister Cities Association Connects the Pacific Coast Ports in Strategic Alliance to Foster Tourism
Puerto Vallarta and San Francisco are now sister cities. The sisterhood, formalized under the auspices of the US Mexico Sister Cities Association, was recently announced by Puerto Vallarta city officials in a ceremony celebrating the strategic partnership between the two Pacific Coast ports.
Puerto Vallarta’s Interim Mayor, Rodolfo Domínguez Monroy, led the twinning ceremony, accompanied by the General Consul of Mexico in San Francisco, Gemí José González López; the President of the Tourism Commission, Martha Susana Rodríguez Mejía; and the city’s Tourism Director, Ramón González Lomelí.
The partnership is expected to promote cultural and commercial ties between the cities, which have shared a historical legacy since the 1960s. The two conurbations are also both home to large LGBT communities, a thriving demographic sector that contributes to the Puerto Vallarta’s greatness, Rodriguez Mejia noted at the twinning ceremony.
She added that San Francisco, with the highest per-capita purchasing power in the U.S., is close to Silicon Valley, home to small and large technology corporations from around the world, which could be replicated and developed as a second major industry — in addition to tourism — in Puerto Vallarta.
Oliva Izaguirre, Mexico’s National President of the US Mexico Sister Cities Association, pointed out that Puerto Vallarta serves as an important example of a city with optimistic, enthusiastic and intelligent inhabitants being united with other important cities to strengthen bonds of friendship, to share experiences and to collaborate in different areas such as culture.
In addition to celebrating the new sister city status, Mayor Dominguez Monroy also introduced a team of local business owners who will make up the local committee to oversee the work done under the alliance, which will also work to foster tourism. Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and United Airlines all offer direct flights between Puerto Vallarta and San Francisco.
The sisterhood between Puerto Vallarta and San Francisco is not affiliated with Sister Cities International. The US Mexico Sister Cities Association (www.usmsca.com) is based in La Jolla, California.