Indulge

Mountain Luxe

The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch PHOTOS PROVIDED BY THE RITZ CARLTON BACHELOR GULCH

From the outside, The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch looks like it’s always been there, nestled along towering pine trees and breathtaking Rocky Mountains, almost hidden from view.

Black-and-white photos you’ll see of this soaring, log-cabin-style lodge—located four miles from the Beaver Creek ski mecca—might indicate it was built even before Vail Resorts (which also operates Keystone, Breckenridge, Park City, and many more) began buying and developing ski properties in the area more than 40 years ago.

However, the minute you step inside this magnificent, five-star resort in remote Avon, you realize that everything you’re about to experience from here will live up to the legendary brand that is The Ritz. Since 2002, the property has served as the ultimate escape for skiers and non-skiers alike, with multiple snowshoe hikes, unique access to Beaver Creek Mountain (and now, the newly debuted McCoy Park terrain), a chic après ski scene, divine culinary offerings, a 21,000-square-foot spa, and a Ritz Kids’ program that includes a Ski Nanny (do we need to say more?)

While there is much to do here even in summer months (imagine access to the finest Vail Valley and Beaver Creek golf courses), this year, it’s all about the winter ski season where the property will put the finishing touches on its recent renovation in time to celebrate a milestone 20-year anniversary.

And yes, you’re invited. Now the only question is, what do you want to do first?

Whether you’re craving the thrill of a black diamond slope or are just along for endless spa treatments and boozy concoctions by the fire, this is a place where you can literally choose your own mountain adventure (ask about the in-room camping). We’ve put together a little guide to help you chart your course.

SKI-IN, SKI-OUT

The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch is notorious for exceptional skiing and the most seamless ski-in, ski-out experience in the region. From the resort’s ski concierge to the vast mountain terrain for all ski levels, it really doesn’t get better than this.

With more than 2,000 acres of diverse terrain, Colorado’s Beaver Creek is perfect for making fresh tracks, riding moguls, or cruising down groomed runs. You are literally within moments of the area’s best skiing for all skill levels. Ski-in, ski-out privileges, an in-house outfitter, a ski and snowboard school, and a dedicated concierge are just a few of the perks of staying here.

The resort also now offers premier access to the newly debuted McCoy Park terrain. The expansion includes 17 trails and 250 acres of ski terrain for beginner and intermediate skiers as well as a family-friendly learning area. And if that wasn’t enough, Vail is just 15 minutes away—offering more than 5,000 acres of skiable terrain, including seven legendary Back Bowls spanning seven miles and three terrain parks to cater to skiers of all levels.

SNOW PATROL

If skiing isn’t your thing, the resort offers many other wintery activities that doesn’t require a lift. There are seven different snowshoe hikes, including select routes that are timely for the season.

Want to admire the silhouettes of the Rocky Mountains, then the sunset snowshoe hike is for you. If you want to get some (snowshoe) steps in, opt for the village-to-village snowshoe hike—a serene four-mile trek from Bachelor Gulch to Beaver Creek village.

But perhaps the most alluring route (and one you’ll be talking about long after you get home) is a stargazer snowshoe tour that reveals the splendor of the mountains at night under a glimmering sky. That epic experience can be followed by warm signature cocktails in The Great Room, which leads us to our next (and this author’s favorite) category.

APRÈS SKI

Sometimes the best part of a Colorado winter getaway is what comes after you give the skis or snowshoes back to the concierge and settle comfortably for some après ski indulgence.

Even if your “active day” was back-to-back spa treatments, there’s something magical about having everyone come together in the evening around a delicious dinner or round of toasty drinks. Stacked stone, rich wood, nature-inspired artwork, a crackling fireplace, and lounge-worthy seating set the mood for mountain cuisine, barrel-aged cocktails, après ski fare and robust coffee.

Among a diverse array of culinary offerings, WYLD presents the finest from the valley, displaying bold cooking techniques and seasonal ingredients. Sakaba serves as Beaver Creek’s premier sushi restaurant, offering a menu of fresh sushi, sake, and craft cocktails in an intimate setting. Buffalos elevates gastropub cuisine in a Colorado-forward space with rustic wood and grand stone features, presenting a cozy atmosphere and warming appetites with their famous Bison chili.

For an authentic glam après ski or poolside dining experience, check out the Fireside Bar. Surrounded by mountains and forest, this barbeque restaurant features casual meals and signature cocktails. And then there’s The Great Room, a must-see on your Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch experience. A grand three-story stone fireplace is the centerpiece of this lodge-inspired lounge, where you can end your evening on a cozy couch with live music and decadent après ski offerings.

What’s up for tomorrow? Maybe it’s time to go back to that spa.

JUST SAY “AH”

Tucked into the mountain, The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Bachelor Gulch mimics the resort’s stunning surroundings with treatments focusing on mind and body. As a guest, you will also have access to a veritable spa oasis of 19 treatment rooms, relaxation lounges with steam rooms, saunas, yoga rooms, plunge pools, and a stone-lined coed grotto.

Signature spa treatments incorporate locally sourced herbs, plants, and minerals, and address the familiar body aches you veteran skiers experience after days on the slopes.

The Miner’s Mineral Mud Wrap looks particularly appealing, even if you’ve done nothing all day. This mineral-inspired treatment uses indigenous ore that is hand mixed during the treatment to take you on a rejuvenating journey. Foraged from the depths of Colorado’s mines, activated charcoal mud is renowned for its powerful detoxifying properties. Coupled with amethyst oil, rose quartz salt, and shea butter, this is the perfect recipe for a calm mind and uplifted body. (Did we mention it also includes full body exfoliation, body wrap, scalp massage, hydrotherapy bath, and full body massage … ahhhh.)

Now let’s talk about the children.

King Suite at The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch

RITZ KIDS

Whether they’re your own littles or the grandbabies, the Ritz Kids program is a lifesaver. Catering to children ages 5 through 12, a full Rocky Mountain regime of memorable experiences full of adventure, creativity, and wellness awaits.

The resort’s beloved Ski Nanny program is also back this winter—a resource as amazing as it sounds.

Kids enrolled in the full-day Beaver Creek Group Ski School will be outfitted in gear by their Ski Nanny as well as escorted to and from their lessons on the mountains.

What this means is you have more time on the slopes, at the spa, or (who are we kidding?) the lounge. Last but not least, because the holidays are here and we’ve been invited to help celebrate a milestone, it’s time for a countdown.

Sounds pretty incredible, no? Maybe we’ll see you there.

For more information about The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch, call 970-748-6200 or visit ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/colorado/bachelor-gulch. You can also follow the resort on Instagram at @theritzcarltonbachelorgulch.

JOIE de VIVRE

Auberge Saint-Antoine facade. Photography by Stephane Groleau

Beloved for its Old World character and charm, Québec City is a Francophile’s dream steeped in 400 years of history. North America’s cradle of French civilization is accessible via a two-hour flight from O’Hare airport (about the same time it takes me to drive to Chicago in traffic). A visit to one of Canada’s oldest cities and the only remaining walled city in North America makes you feel as if you’ve traveled back in time to the elegance of centuries past.

Situated on the cliffs overlooking the great St. Lawrence River, Old Québec, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has a fairytale essence with its narrow cobblestone streets and gorgeous architecture—think stone facades, grand cathedrals, and steeply pitched roofs. With French (the official language of the province) words dancing in your ears, café tables spilling out onto the cobblestones, and scent-filled bakeries dotting every corner, you can hardly believe you aren’t in the Old World. One of the many things that I absolutely loved was the sense of safety. No matter what time of night, we felt completely at ease strolling arm in arm, without a care in the world. Our laughter and philosophical banter were our only focus (as it should be).

Québec City’s cobblestone streets with Chateau Frontenac in the distance. Photography courtesy of Destination Quebec City

STAY

We chose the luxury Auberge Saint-Antoine located in the historic district of Québec. The hotel stands on an archaeological site that has links to every stage of the historic district’s evolution. The hotel’s proprietors, the Price family, have masterfully mixed hospitality with history—creating a luxurious hotel that celebrates the centuries of Québec City. More than 500 archeological items are on display in the public areas, corridors, and rooms. Even a simple elevator trip is remarkable because it takes you through three and a half centuries of history; with each floor representing an archeological layer.

Every suite has a name, a signature artifact, and a story. My cheerful river view room, the “Lacy Glass Room,” incorporates the color cranberry—an ode to a fragment of a delicate glass European lamp sold between 1880 and 1925. In addition to the artifacts, the hotel incorporates stones from ancient French structures and the reception’s counters are made from oak timbers once used in 19th-century wharves. While the hotel celebrates the past, it is also outfitted with the most modern of amenities.

The Price family, with plans to expand, recently purchased the building next door. It was under construction when we visited, but when complete it will offer large suites for VIPs and multiroom suites for families. Celebrities flock to Québec City; the next time Celine stays at the Auberge Saint-Antoine, I suspect she will be quite thrilled with her brand-new accommodations. saint-antoine.com

DINE

Chez Muffy

Overlooking the St. Lawrence River, this charming restaurant was named in honor of Muffy Price and exudes cozy elegance. The original stone walls and wooden beams of this former 19th-century maritime warehouse create a welcoming atmosphere in one of Québec City’s most historically significant buildings. The menu is a brilliant composition of Québec gastronomy focusing on savory flavors and ingredients from an organic farm on Île d’Orléans. The presentation is a work of art, and I highly recommend the duck if it is on the menu.

Chez Rioux & Pettigrew

A fan favorite on Rue Saint-Paul, this charming eatery and a fixture in the Old Port of Québec was named in honor of Mr. Rioux and Mr. Pettigrew who opened a general store in the 1860s. Those gentlemen would have surely approved of the restaurant’s focus on “boreal cuisine,” which uses seasonal products from small local producers and farms to assure quality ingredients. We opted for the blind-tasting menu and were dazzled by each course and wine pairing.

Tanière3

Interested in a three-hour culinary journey that is out of this world? Then book early at this Québec hot spot nestled between the St. Lawrence River and Place Royale. Reservations are essential because guests are texted the combination to the keyed lock on the restaurant’s front door. As you push open the heavy door, darkness yawns before you. A backlit forest motif emerges once your eyes adjust. A labyrinthian hallway delivers you into a barrel-vaulted stone room where the adventure begins with the first three courses of the 16-course meal.

Before we began our 16-courses, the barman arrived with an isotonic beverage brimming with vitamins to prepare us for the many libations to follow. One of which contained a beautifully frozen blueberry slush that spewed fluffy white smoke when dry ice entered the glass— breathtaking in presentation and taste.

The Tanière3 experience is a blind-tasting, boreal cuisine menu. As every menu is different, I won’t describe each devastatingly beautiful and tasty course. I, however, must describe two experiences that speak to a truly exceptional level of service and attention to detail. First, after moving into the main dining room for the “dinner” courses, a key was placed on my plate. It opened a drawer in the table where I found a note with my name, welcoming words, and prose inspired by the caviar delicacy that was served next. Later, at the evening’s end, we found ourselves in a magical room resembling an enchanted forest of birch trees. Here we were each given a menu with a gold wax seal—a memento of an unforgettable feast. This bastion of excellence was recently awarded the coveted CAA/AAA Five Diamond designation and should not be missed.

IMBIBE

The conveniently located Bar Artefact is the perfect place to enjoy the Auberge Saint-Antoine’s signature drinks. We took a mixology class with head bartender Félix-André and enjoyed a fairly boozy afternoon. My favorite? An Aphrodite cocktail made with lycée liquid, vodka, grapefruit, and ginger. The bar showcases relics unearthed on-site during one of the excavation digs—be sure to visit the cannon and the cannonball still attached to the wood it crashed into eons ago.

Québec City’s cobblestone streets with Chateau Frontenac in the distance

EXCURSIONS

Tour Québec City

Hire a guide (we recommend Tommy Byrne 418-999-7096) for an engaging education about the city’s history and culture. Old Québec is the most intact fortified town north of Mexico, retaining its colonial architecture for more than four centuries. It is the historic and cultural heart of Québec City and the birthplace of French North America. We began our adventure at the foot of the famed Chateau Frontenac perched just above the St. Lawrence River at what must be the city’s highest point. Here you will find the monument of Québec City’s founder Samuel de Champlain. My favorite neighborhood on the tour was Petit Champlain. I adored the architecture—houses with charming dormer windows, gabled roofs, and wide chimneys. In winter, this pedestrian street is decked from cobblestone to rooftop in all things Christmas. Seeing Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, one of the oldest churches in North America, and the immense Québec City trompe-l’oeil mural gives you a glimpse into the city’s history and culture.

Musée National Des Beaux-Arts Du Québec’s Pierre Lassonde Pavilion. Photography by Bruce Damonte

Tour Musée National Des Beaux-Arts Du Québec

This stunning museum contains three buildings offering a vast panorama of Québec’s art history from the 17th century to the present day. We visited the spectacular Pierre Lassonde Pavilion, which houses the museum’s expansive collection of contemporary art dating from 1960 on. During a fascinating tour, we learned about the “King’s Daughters,” the 800 women who immigrated to Quebec in the 1600s under a program designed by Louis XIV and the controversy that surrounds that bit of history. I can’t wait to return to visit the Charles Baillairgé Pavilion, which occupies a former prison and now uses the cells that once held prisoners to hold art.

Visit Île d’Orléans

Rent a car via volvodequebec.com and visit Île d’Orléans known as “the garden of Québec,” located just a half hour from the city. Spend the day experiencing all that this verdant island has to offer. Start with Cassis Monna et Filles, the winner of many international awards for making black currant products. The black currant, known by Quebecers as “gadelle noire,” is a remarkably fragrant, purplish-black berry originally appreciated for its medicinal qualities. The berry is not only brimming with vitamin C and immune system boosters but also creates incredibly tasty libations. Visit the store downstairs to taste the wide variety of products from wines and liqueurs to vinaigrettes and foie gras mousse. Pop into La Monnaguette upstairs for their famous Poutine—an oddly delicious combination of French fries, cheese curds, gravy, and duck. You’ll need something in your stomach for the rest of the day’s tastings. cassismonna.com

Next, visit the Isle de Bacchus vineyard for a wine tour and tastings. Founded in 1982 in Saint-Pierre de Île d’Orléans, the vineyard is a pioneer in the history of Québec viticulture and produces red, white, rosé, aperitifs, and liqueurs as well as internationally renowned ice wine. This was my very first introduction to “ice wine,” a beautifully fruity dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The setting is breathtaking with vines cascading from beneath the main house to the St. Lawrence River. isledebacchus.com

The heart of the island is home to a beautiful orchard, Domaine Steinbach. The orchard, set on the St. Lawrence River, contains 3,000 apple trees and soon will be 100 percent organic. I highly recommend tasting the flight of ciders to witness the scale of flavors. The quaint store offers a delightful array of ciders, jams, butters, and mustards. domainesteinbach.com

Our last stop of the day was OhBio-Ferme Jean Pierre Plante, a pristine farm with the most delicious produce. The certified organic producers, Jean-Julien and his wife, are passionate farmers who take extraordinary pride in their products and have a deep respect for nature—pride and respect you can taste. The farm family has a close relationship with the Price family (owners of the Auberge Saint-Antoine), and the farm’s fruits and vegetables are incorporated into the hotel’s cuisine. ohbio.ca

Strøm Spa Nordique

For a Nordic spa experience beyond compare, make the short jaunt to Strøm Spa Nordique. This is an ideal spot to experience thermotherapy, a thousand-year-old wellness ritual that uses water for therapeutic purposes. Our treatment began with immersions in glorious, outdoor heated pools followed by a variety of cold plunges all while enjoying river views and birdsong. You could easily spend hours here enjoying the various steam rooms, saunas, and serene relaxation rooms—they even offer gourmet regional cuisine, beauty, and spa services. I could actually live there. One thermal experience I missed is the candlelit indoor flotation salt bath. I am dreaming of going back for this meditative experience. stromspa.com

Aeriel view of Quebec from helicopter. Photography by Manu Coveney

Fly with Complexe Capitale Hélicoptère

Take a helicopter ride for a phenomenal aerial view of Québec City, the St. Lawrence River, Montmorency Falls, Île d’Orléans, and the mountains. complexecapitalehelicoptere.com

With so much to experience in this extraordinary city just two hours away from Chicago, why am I not there several times a year? Perhaps that is a New Year’s resolution. For you too? Bon voyage!

Italian Lessons

Italian Lemon Cake PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR

If you’re interested in waxing nostalgic about the golden age of Italian-American dining—the good old braciole and bocce ball days, when all the sauces were red and every table came topped with a carb-bomb of crusty pane, Rich Ciota can go yarn for yarn with pretty much anyone in town.

The man has restaurants and raviolis in his veins. Both sides of his family. His maternal grandfather started a meat company. His paternal grandfather ran grocery stores. His uncle owned a banquet hall where Ciota got his start, working as a busboy, before he earned his culinary school degree from Kendall College and managed a slew of Italian spots.

Visit Ciota’s new place, Il Mio in Clarendon Hills, and you’ll see some photos from those good old days.

They’re not particularly easy to find, though. You’re going to have to snake your way to the back end of what’s an undeniable snazzy-looking dining room to get there.

Very California chic in here. Just head past the woodsheathed, brass-plated bar, complete with all globe lights, built-in flat-screens, and retro-cool Three’s Company ferns. You’ll pass floating shelves lined with earth-toned pottery and a gorgeous hand-painted mural of a giant olive branch.

Keep on going, toward the back. When you pass beneath a bright orange Vespa, the one suspended from the ceiling, you’ll see the photos.

Snapshots of old butcher shops. An old Nonna leaning against the hood of a car. There’s an image of old men spraying down what looks like a giant bull with a garden hose. And handwritten recipes—all scrawled in Italian—for a few dishes that can make Ciota and his partner, Sam Palumbo, feel like they’re nine years old again.

It’s enough to make you hum an old mid-century modern Italian love ballad from Perry Como or Dino. But Ciota’s decision to lead with the modern glitz in the front and house the endearing memories way in the back is deliberate.

“Look,” Ciota tells me, “People just don’t eat the way they used to anymore. People still expect old-school service, but when it comes to food, you have to adapt to the times.”

And there you have it: Ciota’s secret formula. Treat everyone—“yes, sir” and “yes, ma’am”—like they’re Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni. Only his kitchen is dishing up the kind of nouveau-style Italian food that diners crave these days.

Oh sure, there are plenty of old standards—bruschetta and fried calamari, and chicken parm and pork Milanese—but there’s an equal number of offerings that marry with the modern décor.

If I were to tell you, for instance, that Il Mio’s meatballs are gluten-free, what would you say? Pure apostasy? Or Thank the Lord?

Suffice to say they’d be welcome in our house any day of the week. They’re not those little marble-shaped polpette that are suddenly in vogue. They’re actual meatballs. Softball-sized and dense. They taste like a rich Italian meatloaf molded into spherical form. Plus, they come wreathed in a slightly sweet tomato sauce, which goes down particularly easy—more like a silky pomodoro than a thick Sunday gravy.

Pizzas, you say? Ciota doesn’t really serve pizzas. He says there are plenty of pizza parlors around—thick, thin, Chicago-style and Neapolitan—so he’s serving “flatbreads.”

Truth be told, they’re actually Romanstyle pinsas.

The name pinsa derives from the Italian verb “pinsare,” which means to push. The dough itself is pushed and pushed and pushed until the end product looks like focaccia cross-pollinated with a tavernstyle cracker crust pizza. They’re crunchy as breadsticks at the ridge line with middle section firm enough to hold all sorts of goodies. You can order a sausage pinsa or a mushroom pinsa, but your best bet is probably the homemade pesto flatbread blanked with burrata.

By leaning into light bodied yet richly flavored dishes, Ciota hopes everyone will view Il Mio as more than just a special-occasion spot. He wants it to be a place equally suited for a night out with family as a romantic date night.

His plan seems to be working. We noticed just as many sit-down diners order the filet mignon sliders—charred on the grill, then topped with a tantalizing one-two blast of balsamic and aioli—as at the bar. You’ll certainly recognize Il Mio’s pastas— orecchietti with sausage, gnocchi alla vodka, ricotta-spinach ravioli—but you might be surprised at how light they are on your palate.

Our pappardelle with short rib ragu was pure late-2000s Cal-Italian. Sort of like a pot roast with pasta ribboned in between. The accent marks are on the sweetness of the carrots rather than the richness of the short ribs.

If there’s a dish you can’t afford to miss, it’s the branzino, which is by some miracle, made without flour. It’s sautéed in a breezy lemon sauce with tomatoes and artichokes, conjuring up that wonderfully subtle citrus flavor that one associates with Meyer lemons.

Ditto for the Italian lemon cake, which is so good that some of Ciota’s customers still can’t believe he orders it from the outside. Tastes like a first-class glass of limoncello wrapped in a crust and dusted with powdered sugar. Old World meets New World. Rustic yet sophisticated. Rich and light. Just the way Rich Ciota like it.

Il Mio is located at 30 S. Prospect Ave. in Clarendon Hills. Call 630.526.4646 or visit eatilmio.com.

Cocktails

Il Mio’s cocktail list artfully embodies the bright, airy vibe of the restaurant by looking cute and leaning into soothing Mediterranean flavors.

30 Spritz: Pure peach blossoms here. We loved how the undercurrent of citrus (aperol, orange blossom vodka and lemon) married so well with the toasty bread notes of the Prosecco and all that peachiness. We’d call it Better than a Bellini.

Daisy: Sometimes you take a sip of a tequila cocktail and wonder if the bartender bothered to mix anything with it. Not here: a heavy pour of Cointreau and fresh lime juice wrestle the smokiness of the Casamigos Blanco into submission.

Pizzas by Picasso

One evening, while dining in downtown Chicago, I was introduced to a man who claimed to have discovered the most exotic pizza in all of Italy. Not, mind you, a pizza carpeted with esoteric ingredients. Or one of those Vegas-style scams that involve sprinkling tiny slivers of gold leaf on an otherwise ordinary pie. No something better: an altogether new sub-species of pizza.

It was, I must admit, one of the most tantalizing ice-breakers ever uttered in the presence of a food writer—the equivalent of confiding to a Mongolian scholar that you’ve unearthed the lost tomb of Genghis Khan.

Turns out, my new dinner companion—whom I’d later learn was Tim McEnery, the founder of the Cooper’s Hawk restaurant empire—wasn’t spinning tall tales. He really had stumbled onto something quite special while vacationing with his fiancé, Liz, in Rome a few years ago.

The discovery? A tiny pizzeria called Piccolo Buco, which was baking pizzas fringed by a ridgeline of crust so massive it brings to mind visions of the White Cliffs of Dover.

“I can’t explain it,” Tim said, shaking his head like a wine-maker trying to express the indescribable charms of a rare Nebbiolo, “other than to say it’s unlike anything you can find here in the U.S.”

I remember making some flippant comment about wanting to book the next direct flight to Rome. To which Tim responded: No need. We’ve signed a deal with the chef of Piccolo Buco, Luca Issa. He’s going to bring his pizzas to the Chicago area in partnership with Cooper’s Hawk.

Flash forward to the present, and McEnery has made good on his promise: The first state-side iteration of Piccolo Buco has landed in Oakbrook Center, as have Issa’s pizzas. They are indeed beautiful curios bearing exaggerated features. Imagine hiring a skilled caricaturist to design a pizza that’s 80 percent crust and you’ll get the general idea.

It’s as if someone stuck the needle of a basketball pump inside a typical Neapolitan-style crust and continually inflating it, producing a soaring crust that encircles an almost liquefied central basin of meat, sauce and cheese.

From afar, one might assume that crust is all air, but its actually incredibly warm, dense and gooey—almost par-baked in texture. It reminded me of Brazilian pao de queijo, those addictive cheese puffs served at churrascarias.

The pies themselves are made with very simple ingredients: flour, water, olive oil, yeast and salt. But here’s one of Piccolo Buco’s little tricks: Its dough is prepared using a spiral mixer with a fixed hook, rather than traditional centrifugal mixers that generate more heat and thus more gluten. The pliable dough then undergoes a cold fermentation process, similar to a Neapolitan pizza, before it’s allowed to come to room temp and carefully stretched out until it looks like something Picasso would paint onto a canvas.

Yet, for all the Instagram love these pizzas have generated, I’d argue that it’s the tomatoes used for its sauce that are the real draw.

Although you can order a white pie, which substitutes olive oil for tomato sauce, the saucy ones are the most intriguing. Both rely on tomatoes from Puglia: red tomatoes for Piccolo’s more traditional marinara-like sauce and smaller milder yellow cherry tomatoes for their yellow pizzas, which are slightly sweeter and less acidic.

Piccolo has shown great care in sourcing first-class ingredients. Its fabulous fried squash blossoms are battered in a thin coating of rice flour, then stuffed with a four-cheese blend of ricotta, Parmesan, romano and fontina.

Braised short rib PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR

We also were impressed by Issa’s fork-tender short rib—more fruit-flavored on the palate, like a good Pinot Noir than your typical dark, beefy and brooding short rib preparations. It’s served with a delicious mascarpone polenta that’s as creamy as the interior folds of an expertly prepared French omelet.

Piccolo Buco’s pasta list is pure Roma, thus it includes three pastas you’ll find at every trattoria in the Eternal City: the cheese-meets-peppercorn cacio e pepi, creamy carbonara with pancetta and a classic red-sauce all’Amatriciana made with guanciale. But don’t sleep on its richest offering: stuffed cappellaci (hat-shaped ravioli) that are smothered in a fonduta, then topped with a sweet balsamic and bits of pistachio.

By the time you’ve polished off the house’s excellent crostata for dessert, you’ll realize Piccolo offers more than just the thrill of exotic pizzas; it’s really a love letter to the eternal appeal of classic Roman cooking.

Piccolo Buco is located in Oakbrook Center. Call 630.592.8885 or visit piccolobuco.coopershawk.com.

Cocktails

Although you can certainly sip your way around Cooper’s Hawk’s fun catalogue of wines, Piccolo Buco’s drink list offers a wry wink to Old World drinking habits.

Passion Fruit Sangria Slushy: Yes, this is as dangerous as it reads. A heavy pour of Cooper’s Hawk white sangria is blended with passion fruit puree and topped with blackberries in smart homage to the pleasure of cruise ship slushies.

Pineapple Negroni: The gin here is a citrus-forward delight: Malfy gin made with oranges and Sicilian blood oranges. It’s slightly tart character is an ideal counterbalance to its pineapple-infused Aperol and a dash of sweet vermouth.

Travel Guru

Kendra Thorton STYLING BY THERESA DEMARIA / HAIR & MAKEUP BY LEANNA ERNEST

This year, family-owned travel agency Royal Travel & Tours will celebrate 50 years of business. Founded in 1972 by Larry and Kay Berke in DeKalb, the agency is now owned and run by their daughter Kendra Thornton, who took the reins in 2016 and relocated to Winnetka.

“It’s pretty rare to still be family-owned and operated at the size we are,” says Thornton. “We have 14 advisors on our team and have continued to be one of the top-selling leisure agencies in northern Illinois for decades. Our team has traveled collectively to nearly 150 countries and we bring that knowledge and experience back to our clients”

With half a century of experience, the Royal Travel & Tours team has unparalleled knowledge of—and access to—the finest travel experiences in the world.

To honor this impressive milestone, Thornton has a variety of special moments planned throughout the year. She will be taking Royal Travel & Tours’ top sellers to Hawaii in May for a wellness-inspired retreat at the new Four Seasons Sensei Lanai. The team will also host a company party this fall and head to Las Vegas for their industry conference in November. Royal Travel will launch a new cutting edge web site and brand redesign in November; that Thornton says will better fit with the company’s “ability to curate unique authentic experiences that are reflections of our individual client’s interests and tastes.

Business, she says, has been booming as people return to travel. And the industry has evolved to become more tech-forward, with touchless check-in to minimize human-to-human contacts, QR codes at restaurants for menu access, and more. As such, the Royal Travel & Tours team has seen an influx of both last-minute travel as well as bucket list trip planning.

According to Thornton, Western Europe such as France, Spain, Italy, England, and Ireland, is extremely popular right now, along with South Africa, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, Greece, French Polynesia, the Maldives, and Dubai.

Regardless of destination, some travelers are looking for authenticity and are hoping for a full immersion in the cultures of their destination. Others are embracing wellness, hoping to relax and unplug after a tumultuous few years. And some are leaning into gluttony, opting for food- and wine-appreciation trips.

She recommends beginning to plan a major trip about a year in advance to ensure you are able to book the accommodations, travel, and activities you are most looking forward to enjoying while traveling.

“We are seeing a lot of multi-generational trips, too,” says Thornton. “People have missed out on a lot of birthdays and holidays, so they’re making up for lost time.” For clients concerned about traveling safely due to COVID or global unrest, Thornton recommends a private yacht charter in the Caribbean or Mediterranean, or an African Safari. Royal Travel & Tours has seen an increase in clients renting Richard Branson’s islands in the British Virgin Islands for a private experience.

The team creates fully customized itineraries for their clients in a process Thornton likens to that of a personal shopper. Some clients like to be fully booked with every minute planned, while others prefer to lock in the hotel and flights with more time to wing it. The Royal Travel & Tours team keeps that in mind, planning a trip 100 percent unique to the traveler.

Thornton and her team travel extensively to stay abreast of the latest trends. Thornton has already visited Cuba, Hawaii (twice), Mexico, London, France and South Africa earlier this year, and spent her summer sailing in Turkey, Greece, and Spain. Her team has been busy traveling as well, spending time in Saudi Arabia, England, Spain, Italy, the Caribbean, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Dubai, and more, in what Thornton calls a “canvas of the continents” that’s an effort to “practice what we preach.”

Thornton herself is on the advisory board of Travel + Leisure magazine, and two of Royal Travel & Tours’ advisors – Brittney Magner and Melissa Lee – are on the magazine’s A-list. Two others – Stacey Cohen and Tara Koehler – have been recognized by Conde Nast Traveler as best in the industry. Kim Launer, Royal’s longest employee with a rolodex of luxury clients across the Western Suburbs was selected by Travel Agent Magazine as one of the top travel agents of all time.

“We have a lot of experts on our team, which is unique for a company of this size,” says Thornton. “It’s been fun to be creative again. I have a renewed appreciation for the industry and for what we do on a daily basis; that is, make people’s dreams come true and create memories that last a lifetime.”

For more information, visit royal-travel.com or follow @RoyalTravelandTours on Instagram.

Pura Vida

If you’ve dreamed of paradise, you’ve probably dreamed of Costa Rica—Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica. Recently we ventured to this Central American destination and stayed at the ultraluxurious Hacienda AltaGracia, deep in the region’s natural rainforest.

After our flight out of O’Hare and landing at the airport in San José, we took a short private charter to the resort’s airstrip and headed for our casita. Once inside, we marveled the immaculate living space designed by New York-based designer Nina Gotlieb. The casita was designed with a neutral color palette and rich textures of wood, stone, and organic fibers, bringing the area’s natural wonders indoors. The property offers 50 spacious one- and two-bedroom casitas on its 180 acres of property. Each offers stunning views overlooking the lush landscape and rolling hills of the San Isidro Valley.

After taking in our accommodations, we headed for one of the two pools. Laying poolside, we once again had a panoramic view of the valley and mountains while sipping cocktails custom made with locally sourced ingredients. Along with the drinks we tried the freshmade guacamole and plantain chips—something we would have the opportunity to make with the chef later in the day.

The resort is in the region’s cloud forest, rich with plants, trees, and flowers growing wildly, yet beautifully. It also happens to be located next to one of the world’s “Blue Zones”—an area where locals tend to live much longer than average—something locals are very proud of.

Mercado dining lounge PHOTOGRAPHY BY HACIENDA ALTAGRACIA, AUBERGE RESORTS COLLECTION

The next morning, we took advantage of the team’s expertise, hiking the mountains with our expert guide, Johan. The morning hike took us to the most picturesque waterfall locations where we snapped photos and tested the crystal-clear water—something we would be fully immersed in the next day.

Johan was incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the landscape—especially the nearly 300 species of birds that crossed our path as we walked the property. We left appreciating nature even more after spending a few hours with him. From there, we continued to the property owner’s outdoor home where we sat down for a traditional Costa Rican breakfast—rice, beans, onions, baked cheese, and caramelized plantains—before heading back.

After returning to the resort, we once again took advantage of the infinity pool while snacking on fish tacos and salads, made from the resort’s lush garden. Every morsel of food devoured at the holistic paradise was delicious.

Later that evening, we headed for one of the on-site restaurants, Grano, where we indulged in evening festivities with fellow guests and the bartender’s specialty cocktail of the day. Dinner at Grano was something worth raving about. The menu, which changes daily, featured unique delicacies with familiar ingredients. It was easy to like everything.

The next day was all about leisure and excitement— something the resort prides itself on. Part of the Hacienda AltaGracia experience is helping guests discover the undiscovered and push themselves just outside of their comfort zone to break new boundaries and encounter both peace and exhilaration. We accomplished just that during our stay.

That afternoon, we were escorted to El Rio for a healing river bath. This immersive experience began with a cleansing of the aura, followed by a natural detoxifying coffee scrub before we were fully submerged in the cold, pure river water. We then headed for the natural river bath—a large bath basin filled with river water and heated for five hours in the morning by a large wood-burning fire. The experience was one-of-a-kind and helped us connect with nature—something that is magical in the rainforest.

Our dinner that evening was a bit different. Our Compa—a dedicated guest liaison and experience designer—took us to the Picadero for an immersive dinner and traditional stable show. The meal consisted of the best of land and sea—cooked in overdried coconut leaves on an open-fire and paired perfectly with the Tempranillo suggested by our server. Between courses, we enjoyed the lively Costa Rican horse show and got up close with the horses before retreating to our casita.

Casita Grande outdoor space looking out to the Rainforest

We continued our adventure with the horses the next morning on a trail ride called Paso de Los Vaqueros through the nearby hills. During the two-hour ride, we found ourselves surrounded by majestic mountains and rode both on-trail and off-trail, thanks to our trusty wrangler. We had the unique opportunity to see Capuchin monkeys in the treetops along the ride (and apparently it was the first time the trailhands saw them on the property as well). Before we began our descent, we could see the full valley with cloud covered mountains up high and lower lying areas where our casita was below.

Our guide made sure to point out the property’s coffee farm— which boasts more than 7,000 plants—and Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) trees—the trees that give Chanel No. 5 its signature scent. If you’re looking to learn more about the region’s famous coffee, you’ll want to ask your Compa for the Sustainable Coffee Production experience. This tour takes you through local coffee plantation, Los Jilgueros, where you’ll see the start-to-finish journey of a deliciously brewed cup of sustainable coffee. The tour is followed by an immersive lesson in various roasts and a tasting, accompanied by a collection of local sweet and savory treats.

Upon opening in November 2021, Hacienda AltaGracia joined forces with New York-based brand, THE WELL, to elevate the spa experience for guests while connecting them with Pachamama— Mother Earth. Before we began our treatments, we immersed ourselves in Casa de Aqua—a glass-walled oasis dedicated to purification and relaxation rituals. Each of THE WELL’s time-proven local healing traditions and cutting-edge science offerings include East-meets-West healing therapies, transformative treatments, expert-led health coaching and workshops, and more. We opted for the Advanced Bodywork massage and The Skin Ritual facial treatment. Both treatments left us feeling relaxed and rejuvenated and ready for our next spa experience.

We happened to be visiting while one of THE WELL’s Visiting Masters, Darren Austin Hall, a Sound Healer, Sacred Musician, Spiritual Teacher, and Sage from Toronto, Canada was there. Hall led us through a meditative journey of deep relaxation states through song and use of special instruments. It was the perfect end to our journey at Hacienda AltaGracia, leaving us ready to take on the morning flight home.

Our journey home came too soon, as I could have stayed in Costa Rica forever.

The local way of life and the culture and traditions that our guides and Compa were able to teach us about were fascinating and nice retreat from the hustle and bustle of home. It’s no wonder many of the experts at Hacienda AltaGracia have lived in the area their entire life and are passionate about it.

There is a saying you’ll hear immediately upon landing in Costa Rica and throughout your trip that embodies the way of life—Pura Vida. It translates into “Pure Life,” which perfectly captures the spirit of both Hacienda AltaGracia and the region—something you’ll miss once you leave.

For more information on Hacienda AltaGracia, visit aubergeresorts.com/altagracia.