HOSPITALITY coverage is off the charts this week. From restaurants to bars to Betty White celebrations to travel to advertising. (#2, 3, 4, 5, 6 below).

Also, big shout out to Dr. Middaugh at El Paso Manual Physical Therapy. I stumbled across one of his videos on YouTube with exercise tips for those of us with osteoarthritis. Having now followed his recommendations for over a week, I’ve seen major improvements in my hips’ range of motion and flexibility. If you too have arthritis, check him out (#9).

And finally, a word of caution about Covid Test Pop-Up Sites. Being skeptical about them is a wise move. Turns out they are frequently unregulated and unlicensed. Cities around the country are being hit with an avalanche of complaints (#7).

1. [watch]: Video Summary

2. Shout Out To Peak at Hudson Yards: Consistently Great Hospitality & Exceptional STAFF

• I first dined at Peak on November 27, 2020 with my friend Joseph S. and was blown away by the experience from service to food to ambiance. It was hospitality ++++. Friendly, warm, attentive and the restaurant attracted a broad range of diners.
• Then all indoor dining shut down. My next visit was not until April 2021. Again, phenomenal and I could be found dining here at least once a month.
• Omicron put the kibosh on all reservations in December but this week, I was back with my friend, Emma Forster, for lunch.
• Menu has been updated for the winter months: major surprise was the Beef Tartare with sunchoke, apple, smoked aioli. This is not what I would typically order but it was fabulous. Will be ordering it again next week! Other favorites include the Yellowfin Tuna, the Rigatoni with lamb merguez, artichoke, White Lake feta (I usually get the appetizer portion), the Heritage Carrots (presented Stonehenge style), the Wagyu Burger, the baby beets, and the creamy farro.
• Final tip: after your meal, make sure you ask to be taken out to the Edge for absolutely stupendous views of NYC. Also, please say hello to the team at Peak who always take such great care of us: Bret and Chris (General Managers) and Erikson and Alfonso if they happen to be working the tables while you’re there.

3. Betty White’s 100th Birthday Celebrations (Jan 17)

• Thousands of fun events taking place around the country to celebrate what would have been Betty White’s 100th Birthday. I’m quasi-committed to checking out Oliver’s Special Trivia Night which also includes Betty White-themed music, and Betty White’s favorite hot dogs and $6 vodka & sodas. If any of my NYC friends are interested in celebrating Betty in Astoria at 8pm let me know, I’ll make a reservation.
• In Pittsburgh, Caliente Pizza & Draft House is offering 100 free Betty White-inspired Garden pizzas to the first 100 patrons on Monday, Jan. 17. (Source: PghCityPaper)
• Austin, TX is going all in on Betty’s 100th with many events benefiting animal nonprofits, e.g., Austin Pets Alive. Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop is honoring her with a Golden Girl cupcake. La Barbecue is throwing a birthday party featuring pickle martinis and hot dogs and South Austin bar House Wine is hosting a Rosé Nylan Party. (Source: Eater Austin)

4. Barcoa agaveria (PHX). On my itinerary for April

• Barcoa focuses on tequila, mezcal, and other agave-distilled spirits.
• The name is a combination of the words “bar” and “coa,” the tool used to help harvest the agave plant.
• There are two bars at Barcoa: Cantina, on the main floor, offering a casual drinking experience with popular cocktails, and Barcoa, the basement speakeasy, for flights and neat pours.

“We decided to call it an ‘agaveria’ to be inclusive of all of these different types of spirits. When somebody walks through the door, I want them to feel like they can discover something. If they only drink tequila, and they want to discover mezcal, that’s here for them. But if they’re deep down the wormhole — no pun intended — of mezcal, they can get into bacanora, raicilla, sotol.”

David Tyda, Co-Owner (Source: ABC15.com)

5. Applebee’s on a roll: new “Regulars” campaign features Pittsburgh real life friends

https://youtu.be/g0W9cYXJKHM

• Applebee’s has been on my radar lately. LOVED the campaign with Walker Hayes’ “Fancy Like” song and TikTok Dance (see below). Also love the backstory of how Hayes’ daughter made this go viral when she talked her dad into doing the TikTok dance with her.
• Applebee’s is also frequently mentioned on one of my favorite podcasts, Nateland. Comic Nate Bargatze frequently talks about how he and his wife first met while they both worked at Applebee’s.
• Which brings us to Applebee’s newest ad campaign, “Regulars” with appearances by a real-life group of Pittsburgh friends (Markeea “Keea” Hart, Bradley Hill, Danielle “INEZ” Walker, Mia Marshall, and Janita Kilgore). It was shot at an Applebee’s in Swissvale and is set to the theme from Cheers. This group of friends is also currently featured on the Applebee’s Twitter banner (see above).
• The casting for the commercial was done via Zoom. (Source: pghcitypaper)
• And congrats to Applebee’s agency, Grey NY.

6. TRAVEL: friends are heading to Antarctica (and this video makes me nostalgic for my 2018 trip)

• I was on this same trip back in January 2018 but I did not fully appreciate how breathtaking it was until I relived it through this video.
• The Lindblad/NatGeo ships are smaller (126 guests) than most of the cruise ships in this part of the world so no crowding issues and with so much time spent outdoors, I would be shocked if there were any Covid complications.
• Bon voyage, my friends! BTW, the Drake Passage was an absolute highlight for me. WILD first night (looking out my porthole, it looked like I was in a washing machine) but with medications, never seasick!

7. Covid test pop-ups: sketchy, no oversight. BEWARE!

• The Covid-19 Testing Center on the Bowery (top pic) is a bit sketchy. A few days before they covered the windows, it appeared to be run by teenagers who were canvassing for customers up and down the street. All around NYC, tents and vans have popped up providing Covid tests. I’m highly suspicious of these operations, e.g., what were those people doing before they became Covid testers? Several of my friends have had questionable experiences with them.
• Attorneys General around the country are being inundated with calls from people who used pop-up testing sites and have gotten no response, or inconclusive results..
• States and Better Business Bureaus (including Missouri, Illinois, Oregon) are warning people about unlicensed and unregulated pop-up test sites. There is ZERO OVERSIGHT, e.g., St. Louis’ News 4, reported seeing used COVID tests littering the ground around a tent held down with concrete blocks.

8. End of VENMO? Back to cash. Bummer!

• This drives me nuts. I could get political but I won’t.
• Heads up in the meantime, to anyone who uses venmo, paypal, or zelle. Small payments you typically make to babysitters, dog walkers, cleaning ladies, salon hairwashers, are all now in the crosshairs of the IRS. They will be checking on all payments amounting to $600 or more to any one individual, over the course of a year.
• They claim they are not interested in payments covering your share of a split dinner bill or shared household expenses, but does anybody really believe that? I certainly don’t. We’re the low-hanging fruit.
• Unfortunately, this means I’m having to go back to cash.

9. hip osteoarthritis? tips from Dr. Middaugh & EL PASO MANUAL Physical Therapy

Three tips, in particular, have made a huge difference for me:

1. Fidget while sitting (tip #2 on the video). Amazing. Huge improvement – especially on the days when I am at my desk all day, writing.
2. Tip #4: Butt squeezes!! He explains it better than I can.
3. Tip #5: Massage the thigh muscles looking for any knots you feel close to your hip. It calms down/relaxes the quad muscles.

I’m following Dr. Middaugh’s YouTube channel and will post anything else that I find works for me. In the meantime, if you have osteoarthritis (hip or knee), check it out and let me know what you think.

10. WORDLE: the daily version! (avoid the copycats)

• I’m addicted! And I’ve only been at it since early this week. So fun!
• I’m usually terrible at word games, e.g., NYT’s Spelling Bee, although I am very good at crossword puzzles.
• Wordle, however, has me hooked and I am surprisingly good at it!
• If you haven’t tried it yet, here are a few details: It’s a free online word-guessing game. You have to guess the five-letter word in six tries or fewer. The rules are very simple and you’ll find them all over the internet. The hardest thing is finding the authentic Wordle game on the app store.
• Wordle was created by British-raised New York resident Josh Wardle, who used to work at Reddit and is now a software engineer at Brooklyn art collective Mschf. He built Wordle for his partner, Palak Shah, who loves puzzles. At first, the game was played only by family. It was rolled out globally last October and blew up earlier this year.

And that’s a wrap, my friends.

As I mentioned on the video, the whole COVID thing seems to be wrapping up – at least in my neck of the woods, and among my friends. Therefore, my dance card is once again full and I have a jam-packed weekend ahead of me. See you all on the blog next week.