Posts Tagged ‘digitalgodess’
Foursquare Day #4sqDay – What’s Happening?
Foursquare 2011 - April 16
Confession: I am a foursquare fiend. I find it useful when I travel for all the wonderful things I can learn from the local street knowledge level and it never ceases to amaze me how many local brands miss out by ignoring the platform and interaction point as a virtual gold mine of consumer insights…ah the marketer in me never sleeps…
I’m lucky. I will get to go have drinks with other Twitterati at the Opera House here in Sydney, enjoy a cracker view (Aussie for fantastic) of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and hob knob with the locals. Folks flying out of Sydney won’t be so lucky…We know how much checking in at your local dive means on such an esteemed day. A day where it is ok to be be furiously texting, sub-grouping on Beluga, and asking others “So, where are you?” and “How’s that party?”
So, my esteemed and fabulous colleagues at SSP Australia are making those in transit a little less lonely. SSP are amongst the first food and beverage providers who started connecting with passengers and local airport staff nearly six months ago. Queensland stole the thunder with the first local Aussie badge, but we still dream of having one for Sydney International Airport one day and for those of you who visit it, we’re lobbying hard to convince the suits around the airport that social media is a viable way to communicate with folks, especially travelers.
In the interim, I would like to wish all my social media friends and family a sincere and safe Foursquare Day – drinking and driving or puking on Dennis Crowley is simply not acceptable. Let’s try not to shake the net to hard with our check-ins, tweets and all around cavorting…then again…f@ck it, let’s just have some fun!
And if you are are traveling, make sure and check out Rosie & Banel tomorrow doing a special live set at Montreux Jazz Cafe – before customs at Sydney International Airport departures. They don’t mind a camera in their face or a dollar in their tip jar!
Check in on Foursquare for the deals – Make sure to use the unlock code “FRESHONTHEGO”. Follow them on Twitter at @MontreuxJazzSyd – they’re nice.
So, what are your plans for Foursquare Day 2011?
XXX
Gourmet Travels – Caviar House Seafood Bar
Whenever I am in transit at Heathrow Airport I don’t bother with duty free shopping. I make a bee line for the Caviar House & Prunier seafood bar. After being turned on to fine caviar by R&B legend Bobby Brown in Virginia caviar has always been a special but rare indulgence and not because of the price but because of limited access to quality purveyors and authentic products. There is a real difference between fine farm-raised caviar and fish eggs in a jar.
Now that I travel nearly once a month through major transit hubs like Hong Kong, Sydney International and Geneva I know that the Caviar House offers more than just tiny tins of culinary ecstasy for which I am admittedly addicted.
The Balik range of smoked salmon (presently not offered in my local Sydney restaurant located after customs at Sydney International Airport departures) is amongst the best I have ever experienced – for both flavor and texture. I’ve played escapist watching the video on the plasma screen behind the posh marble top bar with a video of the lush Swiss countryside where the smoke houses handle the processing and daydreamed of someday visiting the The Balik Farm where each tasty slab of stunning pink flesh is loving hand cut and de-boned.
Because I am usually not operating any heavy machinery or scheduled to fly the plane during my serendipitous culinary respite I also enjoy the Caviar House’s exclusive selection of premium vodkas, beers and signature champagnes – try the Diamant if you are a purest and the Noir (black) if you like the subtle hint of Szechuan pepper.
If caviar is not your thing, rest assured you can probably get your seafood craving sated with plump prawns (shrimp if you are in JFK Airport), freshly shucked oysters and Alaskan King crab legs.
Many locations offer more substantial meals like breakfast (scrambled eggs with smoked salmon lashed with caviar) and toasted sandwiches (try the lobster sandwich with a Balik beer combo).
For me, the Caviar House is all about the experience. I get a great healthy meal, wonderful service and fine unprocessed food and in my own little corner of ambiance between flights and this little reward is well worth the journey. Do you have a gourmet escape somewhere on your frequent travel path? I’d love to trade tips with you.
Follow me @digitalgodess for more gourmet gossip, culinary happenings and life above 30,000 ft.