Brad A. Johnson

In his memoir Christ Stopped at Eboli, the Italian artist and antifascist activist Carlo Levi told the story of his capture and imprisonment by Mussolini’s government during World War II. Rather than being confined to a jail cell, however, Levi was sentenced to exile in Matera, a godforsaken province in the Italian state of Basilicata […]

In Las Vegas, the world’s best city to eat steak, Robb Report dined at 16 top steak houses in search of nothing less than the perfect cut of beef. The steak had to be at least an inch thick, and cooked medium rare with a beautifully charred crust. It had to be dry-aged, deeply flavored, […]

Click to see Seven Perfect Steaks A waiter rushes through the dining room carrying a steak, and heads instantly turn. Eyes follow. Fingers point. “Did you see that?” a guy at a nearby table says, leaning into the aisle to get a better look. “There goes another one.” Heads turn again, jaws drop. Barely contained […]

The Rosewood San Miguel de Allende (+52.415.152.9700, http://www.rosewoodhotels.com) has brought a new level of luxury to San Miguel de Allende while staying true to the traditions of this former Spanish colonial outpost. Long considered one of Mexico’s most romantic destinations, this once silver-rich town in the Sierra Madre lies just three hours north of Mexico […]

For a time, Restaurant 1833 (831.643.1833, http://www.restaurant1833.com) seemed unlikely to become a standard-bearer for today’s casual yet savvy approach to fine dining. Its debut was beset by long delays, and two chefs came and went before it finally opened last summer in the Stokes Adobe, a historic landmark amid the curio shops of California’s Monterey […]

When word spread that hotelier Ian Schrager had taken control of Chicago’s aging Ambassador East Hotel and its ground-floor restaurant, the Pump Room, the city collectively gasped. In the minds of Chicagoans, the Pump Room was untouchable, the legendary hangout of Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra. Then Schrager announced plans to close, gut, and remake […]

It is an hour before midnight, and a large crescent moon has risen above San Miguel de Allende. The clangs of a church bell mark the hour, but silence soon returns to the Mexican city’s historic core. Suddenly, the whinnies and snorts of horses and the clippity-clop of hooves slapping against cobblestone streets signal the […]

The roads begin twisting and the architecture shrinks as my taxi snakes through the weathered shophouses of Singapore’s Chinatown. The historic neighborhood was almost demolished last decade to make way for more of the skyscrapers that sparkle in the distance on all sides. But these colorful remnants of a colonial past survived, and now they […]

It is 5 pm, and like precision clockwork the porte cochere at the Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, in Kowloon hums with a dozen Ferraris: The serious business of happy hour has begun. Elevators brim to capacity, shooting upward like jewel-encrusted rockets to the 103rd-floor lobby, ears popping in the 52-second ascent. Another lift completes the relay to […]