Colman Andrews

The day after Thanksgiving has widely been considered the start of the Christmas shopping season in America since at least the 1950s, but it wasn’t called “Black Friday” until a couple of decades later – the term possibly appeared in this context for the first time in the New York Times on Nov. 29, 1975. […]

Thanksgiving is coming, which means the busiest time for airports of the year is upon us. You should of the US airports with the most delays.

The first places that come to mind when people think of chain restaurants are probably fast-food operations – McDonalds, Chick-fil-A, Taco Bell, etc., etc. But a significant number of chains fall into what the industry describes as full-service restaurants, sometimes described as dinner houses – that is, places where you sit down and somebody takes your order and brings you food, theoretically with at least a few amenities on the side.

A 750 ml bottle of single-malt Scotch whisky sold at auction at Sotheby’s in London on Nov. 18 for almost $3 million – $2,714,250 (or £2,187,500), to be precise. According to a statement issued by the noted auctioneers, this represents “a new record for any bottle of spirit or wine [ever] sold at auction.”

Hotels can be wonderful places, welcoming and comfortable. A good hotel staff can truly make guests feel “at home.” Some lodgings have been installed in architecturally stunning buildings, so that simply driving up to one is a memorable experience. Some have chic interiors created by top contemporary designers, or are furnished with genuine antiques and […]

Alcohol consumption has declined in many countries around the world since 2011, but has shown worrisome increases in others, according to a new report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a 38-country intergovernmental organization based in France.

The way we experience ambient temperatures seems to be highly personal. Even in hot climates, some people never turn on an air conditioner, making do with ceiling fans and cross-ventilation, while others keep their abodes as chilly as a meat locker. In wintertime, the same kinds of differences exist: 68ºF is just fine for some folks, while others crank the heat up to as much as 75ºF, maybe even higher.

Whether they were seedy, smoky neighborhood joints, raucous watering holes with half a dozen different games playing simultaneously on widescreen TVs, or elegant lounges attached to upscale restaurants or five-star hotels, bars used to be reasonably straightforward places. They stocked a variety and quality of liquors, beers, and maybe wines appropriate to the tastes and budgets of their clientele. All but the most basic ones mixed up classic cocktails, and maybe a few specialties of the house. There might be a jukebox or, on weekends, a live band. These bars were places you went because they were comfortable and familiar — or welcoming, if you’d never been there before.

An estimated 15.5 million American adults identify as vegetarian or vegan, and many more have been consciously trying to reduce their meat consumption – whether through observing “meatless Mondays” or just making animal protein a smaller part of their daily diet – and patronizing restaurants with plant-forward menus. (These are the most popular plant-based protein […]

Beer and pizza go together like, well, milk and cookies or maybe margaritas and tacos. Fast-food operations aside, it’s impossible to imagine a pizza parlor that doesn’t offer a good choice of brews, and many’s the tavern that serves up bar pies to accompany its lagers and stouts. According to a new report by the […]