Lady Travel Talk: Great Finds and Foods

We are pleased to introduce our 4th guest blogger of the Lady Travel Talk, a mini-series tailor made for female travelers. This series covers a host of topics related to the travel experiences of each of the ladies contributing to the series. Today's guest blogger is Mandy Arnold, director of marketing for LightStyles, a regional high-end window and door distributor, and a strategic branding and public relations consultant.

Mandy has clients up and down the East Coast and travels regularly for both business and pleasure.

Today Mandy shares insights on living local while traveling, tips for discovering great regional flavor and shopping.

I really enjoy traveling, but as a business traveler I often don’t have much time to peruse city streets to discover great hidden gems. So, I rely on a few tricks (eNewsletters and apps) that allow me to spend less time researching and more time experiencing.

A couple of things you should know about me… I’m married to a chef and consider myself to be somewhat of an unofficial food critic (see my reviews on Yelp.com) and I love to shop at local boutiques.

There are a few daily eNewlsetters I would recommend for women (and men) who share in my enthusiasm for food and finds. First, I subscribe to DailyCandy for the best insider boutique sales in the cities I frequent. They cover everything from one-day pop-up sales (where boutiques have season close outs and rent a vacant building for a day to sell inventory) to travel tips and best places to eat. Second, I’m a “member” of the Guilt Group (it doesn’t cost anything and email me if you need an invite to join). Gilt Group has a section called JetSetter that offers exclusive travel deals on boutique and high-end luxury hotels, inns and international vacations. While I can’t afford these vacations all the time, I read the blog posts and editor picks for tips on the area. And every now and again, I book a domestic stay for a special weekend.

Beyond these daily reads, when I’m planning a trip I start with visiting the local bureau of tourism for the region. You can easily find the local office or other visitor’s bureau websites using the Tourism Offices Worldwide Directory. These sites will usually have the most up-to-date list of annual events and information on historic or downtown districts. If these are not easily located, my default is Frommers. Frommers offers insights that most other sites won’t offer, like what areas of the city are safe places to walk, what to avoid and who to ask for at local venues for exceptional service. During my travels, historic and downtown districts have proven to be gathering places for great food finds. Once I pinpoint an area that meets two criteria – walking distance to entertainment and easy airport access – I search for what others have discovered.
If I’ve never been to a town or city before, Wikitravel is a fast and easy tool for identifying some unique history or local foods worth exploring in the region.

Ahhh, now on to finding my favorite part of the trip: FOOD! I usually start with Yelp.com (website or the smartphone app) to search for a great place to eat that’s centrally located so I can walk around before or after dinner. Walking also helps to justify over indulgence in the local cuisine. However, when I don’t have time to preplan a trip, I have become a big fan of Aloqa, a mobile service that pushes out notifications on local events, music, shopping, interesting places and more, all based on GPS location. Aloqa also syncs with MeetUp, so you can get a list of small and large events in the area to attend. Some of the best trips I have had included some sort of impromptu TweetUp or MeetUp.

So, with all these tools, I bet you’re wondering what I’ve actually found. Well, since this is just one blog post, I’ll touch on just a handful of my favorite finds.

Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston has the best walking tours I have ever been on. The historic district, which is most of the downtown city, is a visual experience like no other. If you’re a lover of vibrant architecture and beautiful landscaping, then this region of Low Country is for you. There is a great little MoonPie store downtown where you can pick up plenty of graham cracker and marshmallow inspired paraphernalia (MoonPies originated not far from here). Don’t be mistaken, this is by no means the impetus of your culinary experience in Charleston!
Have lunch at Magnolia’s, and if it’s cool enough, enjoy a cup of Blue Crab Bisque. For lovers of seafood, hit Hank’s Seafood Restaurant for dinner and be sure to order the Oyster Sampler and the Tuna Tartar.
If you visit the area for a few days, try to plan a day to visit Pawley’s Island or Kiawah Island.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Ever discover a place that you felt you shouldn’t share for the sake of it becoming too popular? Well, The Franklin Mortgage and Insurance Company is one of mine. Yes, that is the name, but it’s not what it seems. Located on 18th Street in Philly, this bar sits behind a nondescript black door with no signage. With very limited seating, this place is where the real bartenders work. If you find extreme pleasure in the fine art of libations, this place will be well worth the wait. I personally recommend the Lucy Leave (raspberry infused brandy, Lillet, demerara, orange and cucumber).

Recently during a stay in Philly, I just happened to get a DailyCandy newsletter about a pop-up sale going on that same day right around the corner from where I was having breakfast and I scored a pair of boutique shoes for 85% off (Translation: I paid $37.50 for a $250 pair of shoes!).
If you’re spending the weekend in town and arrive with an empty stomach that will require massive amounts of food, stop by Cuba Libre to enjoy a rich Cuban atmosphere. If you’re not too hungry and just want to relax with a glass of wine while nibbling on an assortment of charcuterie complemented with the perfect selection of breads and apricot, honey and mustard spreads, visit Amada. For bunch in Philly, I like The Plough & Stars. The Plough has an outdoor seating area where you can watch the city awake slowly as everyone emerges from a Sunday slumber.

I hope my tips help you discover some great finds and food on your next trip.

Where are some of your favorite places to dine while traveling? Do you have a place that you've made a tradition of going?