Foodie News

Treasured Texas boutique hotel named one of the world's best farm-to-tablerestaurants

Vegetables go from the garden to your plate at the Inn at Dos Brisas.
Inn at Dos Brisas/Facebook
The Inn at Dos Brisas is about an hour outside of Houston, in Washington, Texas.
The Inn at Dos Brisas/Facebook
The organic farm at the Inn at Dos Brisas.
The Inn at Dos Brisas is the only Forbes Travel Guide five-star restaurant inTexas.

If there's anything I learned from the movie The Trip, it's that comedians might be fun to watch, but they can be annoying travel companions. That and small hotels in the English countryside have some of that country's most interesting restaurants.

Luckily, travel-worthy hotel restaurants aren't confined to the other side of the pond.

Departures magazine has culled together a list of the 10 best farm-to-table hotel restaurants in the world. In addition to a hotel that sits in the middle of a Tanzanian coffee plantation, a New Zealand lodge and a three-Michelin-star hotel restaurant in California, the magazine recognizes Texas treasure Inn at Dos Brisas.

Executive chef Zachary Ladwig benefits not only from a location in the heart of Texas cattle country but also from an organic garden that sprouts more fruits, vegetables and herbs than his kitchen can possibly use.

The 313-acre property includes an organic garden; orchard of persimmon, pear, apple and pomegranate trees; and two greenhouses. Ladwig plays with colors, flavors and textures to prepare the freshest, most seasonally driven dishes.

Just an hour west of Houston near tiny Washington, Texas, the Inn at Dos Brisas is also the only Forbes Travel Guide five-star restaurant in Texas.

unspecified

Holiday News

American Airlines expects record-setting travel on Thanksgiving 2024

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

American Airlines ready for takeoff.

The holidays are looming and American Airlines is ramping up. Over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, the Fort Worth-based airline expects to process nearly 8.3 million customers across more than 77,000 flights.

According to a statement from American's COO David Seymour, the airline is having a good fall season and canceled fewer flights than its peers during October.

“Thanks to the hard work of our 130,000 team members, we canceled fewer flights than any of our major competitors this October and beat our own records for on-time departures and arrivals,” Seymour says.

That's surely good news. One hates to rain on their parade, but in June 2024, the only flight I booked this year, my flight was canceled less than 24 hours before take-off. I had made hotel reservations, scheduled a pet sitter, planned events, and arranged for a friend to pick me up at the destination airport. One employee speculated that it may have been "insufficient crew." Their only solution offered was: Feel free to reschedule your flight.

Thanksgiving facts and figures
The travel window runs from November 21 to December 3, and the airline expects to carry more than 500,000 more customers than it did last year.

The most-traveled day will be Sunday, December 1. The second most-traveled day will be Monday, December 2.

The peak of peak: 1,035 mainline and regional aircraft will be enroute at 10:45 am on Sunday, December 1 — the highest number of flights handled at any given time during American’s travel period.

The airline expects to serve more than 6.8 million Biscoff cookies on board from November 21 to December 3.

Travel tips
Download the American Airlines app and check in for your flight, noting added any bags to your trip. This will save you time at the airport.

If traveling internationally, download the Mobile Passport Control app, which can speed up your entry into the U.S. Global Entry members can download the Global Entry app, which allows you to submit your entry and go straight to the officer.

Upon arrival at the airport lobby, scan your mobile boarding pass to print bag tags quickly at a kiosk. If you’re not checking bags, go straight to TSA security with your mobile boarding pass.

holidays