“Father,” calls a voice from the backseat of the car, “do tell me how to activate the seat massager.” My nine-year-old has been in the shimmering green Bentley Flying Spur S that we’re driving for all of 10 minutes and has already adopted a British accent, preparing herself for the glamor of our destination. Palm Springs has a vibe. It’s a historic heliosphere of Old Hollywood — celebrities in linen and tennis whites frolicking poolside with cocktails in hand. I’m out to discover if such a glamorous getaway is possible, with kids.

        This is not a journey for a bulky SUV. Gliding along US Interstate 10, the Bentley moves with purpose, composure, and grace. For at least 50 miles, my family is more enamored with its craftsmanship than their iPads. Accelerating hard fills the cabin with a baritone roar that prompts a largely ignored dad lecture on Bentley’s racing heritage. “Did someone just wave at me?” my wife asks in disbelief as we near our destination: the Parker Palm Springs.
        Once owned by Gene Autry and reimagined by Jonathan Adler, the Parker strikes a considered balance between luxury and whimsy. Our one-bedroom villa welcomes us with sumptuous finishes, a generous kitchenette, and a dolphin-shaped faucet worthy of its own animated television series. Overall, it embraces what many luxury resort hotels lack: joy. Just like Old Hollywood, beneath its extravagance lies a sense of playfulness, of mischief. 

        Let’s tuck into Tasting Notes, a collection of essential food questions featuring the most exciting names in the industry. Today’s spotlight is Marcus Samuelsson, the Ethiopian-Swedish chef with restaurants worldwide, including his iconic Harlem eatery Red Rooster and Hav & Mar in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood.

        Samuelsson also has a long-standing connection to arts and design. His most recent project is a foray into home: a 32-piece capsule collection with West Elm, blending the spirit of Ethiopian and Swedish aesthetics. It’s as rich and vibrant as the multicultural cuisine Samuelsson’s known for. Now, amongst other things, I ask for his hangover cure.

 

What's something that always tastes better in its place of origin? 
        Freshly caught fish reminds me of fishing in Sweden with my family when I was a kid. It's a complete experience, with a fresh catch going straight on the grill with some lemon or herbs — simple and delicious, to be enjoyed with loved ones. Now I get to do it with my son Zion, teaching him these skills.

What's the only thing to bring to a dinner party?
        Festive cakes are always crowd-pleasers, like a chocolate-cherry cake — simple to make, yet so rich and memorable. 

What’s a flavor that makes you emotional?
        The flavor of Swedish meatballs — I now do a version of them for my kids — or something pickled, since we did a lot of pickling of foraged fruits and veggies. They’re dishes from my childhood that bring me back to the home I grew up in, full of love and good food cooked by my grandmother, Helga. I would sit in her kitchen while she cooked.

What do you cook for someone who’s sick?
        Chicken soup is a classic. It's hearty and easy to digest, and you can make it easily from leftover chicken. If you have a chicken bone with some dark meat on it or a bone from a roast with some beef stuck on it, don't remove them; they will add some great flavor. You can add some chili or a favorite spice to help clear your sinuses if you're feeling congested.

If you're a drinker, what must be consumed in excess? Now, what’s your hangover cure?
        I’m not really a big drinker but as a Swede I always appreciate aquavit, which is a great summertime drink because it's light and infused with herbs and spices. Hav & Mar does a great job of really showcasing all it can do — it's such a refreshing spirit. It's best to avoid overdrinking in the first place … but if you are indulging and end up with a mean hangover, I suggest going for something hearty with a lot of fat, like pork belly ramen.

        From the outside, the building at the cross of Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall in London looks like a fortress. And for many years, it essentially was. From 1857 to 1964, it was the War Office, headquarters for Britain’s armed forces and its leaders, including the Secretaries of State and War. After 1964, it became the Old War Office (OWO), housing the Ministry of Defense. It is where Winston Churchill’s offices were located. In its basement corridors, MI5 and MI6 were born. 
        The government sold the building in 2014, after relocating its offices. Late last year, for the first time in its long history, the storied property began to welcome the public for the first time — the occasion was the opening of Raffles London at The OWO.
        Entering the hotel from Whitehall’s busy streets offers a sigh and a gasp. You’re hit with undeniable grandeur as you face a two-story, red-carpeted double staircase. Like most of the building, it contains British materials — in this case Painswick stone walls and English alabaster balusters. The paving and steps, in Italian Piastraccia marble, were built to be unusually wide and deep so officers wounded in battle and sporting wooden peg-legs would have space to swing them out to the side as they ascended. At the top stands the cutout podium from which Winston Churchill delivered his daily morning address to rally his troops during the darkest days of World War II. A Murano glass chandelier (not original, but very beautiful) crowns this impressive entryway.
        The building, which was the first in the world to be wired with telephone lines, is (after eight years of renovation) enormous — nearly 820,000 square feet of Grade II listed space (“listed” denotes its landmark status). Its hallways host two and a half miles of mosaic tile floors, all of which were painstakingly restored. And unable to add square footage above ground, the renovation instead went down, excavating five additional floors of London clay to add ballrooms and meeting rooms; a multifloor Guerlain Spa; a state-of-the-art gym and fitness complex (a partnership with Pillar Wellbeing offers training and wellness programming); and, incredibly, a 20-meter-long swimming pool. (Along with the hotel, The OWO has private residences — but no sharing is required: They have their own amenities.) 
        Upstairs in the hotel, guest suites are housed in former offices, including those of Churchill and War Secretary Lord Haldane. Their original woodwork and fireplaces are preserved, and they are furnished with period-appropriate antiques. More suites were created in the four rounded domes that cap the building’s corners; each is named for a notable female Brit, including several spies. There are also nine restaurants, including Kioku by Endo from Michelin-starred chef Endo Kazutoshi; Café Lapérouse, the first UK outpost of the Parisian institution; and two restaurants by Mauro Colagreco, serving the Argentinian chef’s signature hyper-local, seasonal cuisine. The property’s three bars include The Spy Bar, buried in the basement (the office number is 007, of course), where no photos are allowed, but I am authorized to say the space nods to the most famous spy in Her Majesty’s Service in a very fun way. An astronomical investment of both time and money was involved in giving the property its newest life (the figure isn’t public, but I heard whisperings it was north of £1.5 billion). The results, however, are jaw dropping. And, of course, it is all topped off by Raffles’ renowned service.  
        History feels ever-present at The OWO — even more so during my visit, which coincided with the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Both of my grandfathers served in WWII, one as a fighter pilot, the other as a navigator. I was thinking of them that morning as I left the building that housed Churchill’s office to tour his War Rooms, fortified bunkers carved out deep below the streets. I was lucky enough to take a private tour with a historian. It’s an experience that can be booked, which I highly recommend. Our guide unlocked glass doors to bring us into each room, which dropped me right into the experience. In the Map Room, which tracked each transport around the globe with a single pin, she pointed out spots where the paper had worn so thin from so many pinpricks that it had to be reinforced. Churchill’s bedroom, where he slept on a thin cot, is papered in even more maps — evidently he liked to stay plugged into the action even as he snoozed. Most moving to me was the War Room itself, where she called attention to the arms of Churchill’s wooden chair. They were worn from where, as he sat in long meetings with his council, he had dug his fingernails back and forth, scratching away the wood. 
        As I emerged from underground, into the sunny London afternoon, I felt a sense of the utter closeness of the past. I could still smell the cigar smoke.

        Until recently, my experience of the Pittsburgh art scene was limited to a day at the city’s Polish Hill Bowl Skate Park — part of a week spent on a bus with about a dozen pro skaters (including the legendary Keith Hufnagel) for Shepard Fairey’s Obey Your Thirst skateboarding tour. I didn’t explore the city at that time, so it was only on a recent trip that I learned the Rust-Belt city actually has a longstanding practice of supporting artists, buoyed by the philanthropy of its wealthy, influential families from the Industrial Era. (Think the Mellons, Carnegies, and Hillmans.) If my visit to the Andy Warhol Museum, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, is any indication, it is a tradition with legs. 
        The Warhol is one of the most comprehensive single-artist museums in the country, but it’s no mausoleum: It’s a dynamic institution that’s becoming a model for civic engagement. Among many initiatives, it’s the first museum in the United States to fully integrate creative economy workforce development into its learning and public engagement operations. Part of its 10-year development plan of the city’s Pop District — a six-block section of Pittsburgh’s North Shore — the museum is funding cultural programming, public art installations, and building The Factory, a new creative arts center for live performances and events. Already the project has generated more than $3 million in wages, fellowships, and contracts and has enrolled over 100 students in The Warhol Academy. 
        These initiatives — and their ripple effects — were on full display at the museum’s unveiling of Together, a commissioned mural and public sculpture by American artist and designer Brian Donnelly, a.k.a. Kaws. Part of the Kaws + Warhol exhibition, it was what drew me back to Pittsburgh. The exhibition, exploring the dark themes in the works of both artists, is the first to present them together. The reception reflected its revolutionary nature and the visible impact of the district, as local patrons and Kaws fans mingled with rapper Pusha T, graffiti legend Futura, shoe designer John Geiger, and members of the new wave band Devo, bringing to life a timeless adage of the museum’s namesake: “Pop art is a way of liking things.” 
        Outside of the museum, in front of the mural and sculpture, the party continued as kids filmed TikTok dances and took selfies well into the night. Donnelly appreciates the power of his work to attract youth — and how that converges with the Warhol initiatives. “It’s important to have a community space where kids can gather,” he told me. “I would have definitely found the Pop District when I was younger; it’s a win-win — for the kids and for Pittsburgh.”
 

 

       Alice Beltri is a native Roman with a consummate eye for beauty and aesthetics, and a love for travel. Her career has spanned stints at fashion houses ranging from Dior to Valentino, traversing Milan and London. She’s recently joined the team at Casa Monti Roma, a newly opened, joyfully designed five-star luxury hotel in the Eternal City, and has no regrets about returning to her hometown. 
        As she puts it, “Rome is home. Rome is amore. Rome is dolce. Rome is storia. The city welcomes you with a Roman joy: a spirit of slow life and a not-so-discreet nonchalance. Rome surprises the eyes, Rome is beauty, the kind of beauty that makes you wonder. Rome is where I belong.”

 

Something to eat … La pizza al taglio (pizza by the slice) at Roscioli and carciofi (artichoke) and calamari salad from Trattoria da Teo in Piazza dei Ponziani. Generally, do not miss Camponeschi Ristorante and its wine bar. In Piazza Farnese, enjoy an aperitivo at Circoletto Roma, overlooking Circo Massimo — always try the special: pizza with pastrami! If you’re looking for classic Roman dishes, try Giulio passami l’olio or Felice a Testaccio for the best cacio e pepe.

 

Something to see … Panoramic views and sunsets from Gianicolo hill, an easy stroll from the Trastevere neighborhood, passing by Fontana dell'Acqua Paola. And of course the Casa Monti Roma hotel in the heart of the lovely Monti neighborhood, just a short walk from the Colosseum. 

 

Something to take home … Toko jewelry is the best spot to find vintage-inspired jewelry. I especially love the signet rings. Le Tre Sarte for well-tailored, handmade, made-to-order wardrobe staples.

 

Only in Rome … Edicola Erno is a new concept from Edicola Romana. It offers a curated selection of magazines and hard-to-find coffee table books. Located in a charming piazza near Borgo Pio, it also hosts pop-ups and events.

 

A secret spot … For bookworms, Libreria Libri Necessari is a small bookstore in Via degli Zingari (in Monti), where the owner hand selects pre-owned and antique books.

Red Hot. When you hear Francis Mallmann is cooking, you drop everything and run towards the table. That was the feeling in the air at Dom Pérignon’s unveiling of its Vintage 2015 and Vintage 2006 Plénitude 2 last week at a sprawling estate on the coast of the Hamptons. Mallmann, the superstar Argentine chef who cooks with primal methods, prepared a many-course meal paired with the two vintages. Cars, helicopters, and boats brought a coterie of excited fans, friends, and foodies. And it was exactly as we’d all hoped: The chef had set up an open BBQ pit on the banks of the bay, part of his infamous seven-fire cooking technique that includes a chapa (a cast iron grill) and horno de barro (a wood oven). There were ribeyes on the bone, salt-crusted wild salmon, and a whole lamb served with sweet potatoes cooked in ash (which, in this writer’s opinion, stole the show). The champagnes were, no surprise, impeccable — the Vintage 2006 Plénitude 2 was crisp, light, and refreshing; the perfect wine for this scorching summer. –Alex Frank