lisaefreedman.com

Lisa E Freedman, My Journal Through Life, is the Home Base & Blog for LF Media Ink, a Boutique PR/Marketing Company specialized in the Arts, Entertainment & Travel Industries. Enjoy!

Chicago – Where to Stay: A Guide to the City’s Best Hotels

The idea for a trip to Chicago came up after friends of ours started asking where our next trip would be. We thought about the options and my partner suggested we travel domestically after having travelled internationally. How about Chicago? He said. He had been there professionally but never with enough time to see too much of it. And always with the curiosity to see more. There was so much more to explore. I had been to Chicago on a cross...

Benable: The Recommendation Platform Worth Knowing About

I've always believed the best travel and lifestyle advice comes not from algorithms, but from people — someone who has actually stayed at the inn, tried the restaurant, worn the shoes, and wants to tell you about it. That's exactly the spirit behind a platform I've been spending a lot of time on lately: Benable. If you haven't discovered it yet, consider this your introduction. And if you're a longtime reader who has been asking where to...

The Ultimate Cruise Packing List

The Cruise Packing Edit Don't Leave the Dock Without These The Amazon finds that cruisers swear by — curated by someone who has been on the ship.✦ This post contains Amazon affiliate links. I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you should you purchase from my links. Packing for a cruise is its own art form. You're not packing for a hotel — you're packing for a ship that is simultaneously a resort, a restaurant, a beach club, and a...

A Dining Guide to the Norwegian Star on the Norwegian Cruise Line

One of the best-kept secrets of cruising is this: you don’t have to choose between a great vacation and great food. On the Norwegian Star, the two are inseparable. With ten dining venues ranging from a 24-hour neighborhood pub to a tableside Brazilian churrascaria, the ship operates less like a floating resort and more like a well-curated food city. And with NCL’s signature Freestyle Cruising philosophy — no assigned dining times, no...

A Caribbean Cruise on The Norwegian Star

During our first few weeks in Sarasota this year friends of ours convinced us to join them on a 10-day Caribbean cruise leaving Tampa, Florida at the end of March and returning to Tampa on April 9th. The cruise would make stops in Cabo Rojo, Dominican Republic; Aruba; Curaçao; Falmouth, Jamaica and Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands on the Norwegian Star in The Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). They booked it through Vacations-to-Go, a discount travel...

Ragù Cucina Italiana: A Hidden Gem in Palmetto, Florida, Worth the Trip

Inside a 19th-century Victorian house on the banks of the Manatee River, two brothers from Rome are cooking the kind of Italian food that makes you want to cancel your other plans. Not every great restaurant announces itself loudly. Some of the best ones are tucked away — in unexpected towns, on quiet streets, in buildings that have their own stories to tell long before the food arrives. Ragù Cucina Italiana, on 8th Avenue West in Palmetto,...

Wolfie’s in Sarasota: A Legendary New York Deli Finds a New Home on the Gulf Coast

The Original Wolfie's & Rascal House brings 70 years of deli tradition — pastrami on rye, chicken soup, Broadway ambiance and all — to the heart of the Rosemary District. There are certain dining experiences that go beyond food. Wolfie Cohen's Rascal House in Miami Beach was one of them. For decades, it was a cultural institution — a place where the Bee Gees stopped in, where the Golden Girls were spotted, where Meyer Lansky was a...

Toasted Mango Cafe: Sarasota’s Beloved Breakfast Institution Gets a Fresh Start

A hometown original since 2011, the Toasted Mango has landed in a sunny new spot in the Rosemary District — and it's better than ever. Some restaurants earn their status quietly, over years of good food and consistent hospitality, until one day you realize they've become part of the fabric of a place. That's Toasted Mango Cafe. Since Kim Duffy and Sandi Wagner — best friends turned business partners — opened their doors on North Tamiami...

Wink Wink at The Modern: Where Sarasota Gets Its Groove On

The downtown hotel restaurant that's become a neighborhood favorite — for good reason. There's a moment, somewhere between your first cocktail and your second order of sharables, when Wink Wink Food & Drink stops feeling like a hotel restaurant and starts feeling like exactly where you want to be. That's the trick — and the charm — of this downtown Sarasota gem tucked inside The Sarasota Modern, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel on Boulevard...

A Taste of Puglia in Paradise: Discovering Vino Vino in Sarasota

Tucked away in a modest strip center on Siesta Drive in Sarasota, Florida, lies a culinary treasure that transports diners straight to the sun-drenched heel of Italy’s boot. Vino Vino is not just another Italian restaurant—it’s an authentic celebration of Pugliese cuisine, brought to life by passionate owners who’ve made it their mission to share the flavors of their homeland with the Gulf Coast. The Story Behind the SauceVino Vino...
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