{This summer, a soccer injury sidelined me from the field for five long months. I recently celebrated my return to the beautiful game with a beautiful cocktail at The Restaurant at The Cheshire. Tudor Red Rose holds elegant elderflower liqueur, whose sweetness is balanced by bitter Aperol and tart blood orange juice, then topped with sparkling wine and a touch of rose water. Here’s to personal victories!}
{A nightclub where you need to know the code – password, clothes, handshake and all. Not interested. A club where a luxury box seat to a live show includes a parking spot, a private entrance, pre-show dining on a grand staircase, a private cocktail lounge, in-seat food and beverage service and a private restroom? Someone please sign me up for the Fox Club at the Fabulous Fox Theatre! Now that I’ve had a taste of gentrified entertainment, I can’t bear to go back to my commoner seats in the upper balcony.}
{I must be on some sort of international drinking trip. Last month, I drank up India; I’ve moved on to Lebanon. At Layla, you can find a trio of wines from the Middle Eastern nation, as well as cocktails by bar manager Nick DiGiovanni that incorporate Lebanese kitchen staples such as sumac, zaatar, ginger, dates and flower waters. Try A Bedwin [sic] in The Grove, which takes the margarita on an excursion to the Middle East.}
This article appears in December 2013.