David Farley

The 20 Best Restaurants In Prague - Prague - The Infatuation You may have come to the Czech capital for Baroque buildings and beer. But the dining scene is the sleeper hit. These are the best restaurants in Prague.

I love writing about restaurants that I love. In this case, The Infatuation let me pen mini love letters to my favorite places to feast in Prague. www.theinfatuation.com/prague/guide...

The European nation pioneering 'beer diplomacy' For the last six years, the globe's top beer tourism destination has been quietly inviting brewers to the Czech Republic to teach the world how to drink properly.

I wrote about the program for BBC Travel: www.bbc.com/travel/artic...

In 2002, Thailand began wielding soft power with the Global Thai program, subsidizing Thai restaurants abroad. There were 5,000 Thai spots abroad in 2002. Today, there are 17,500. 6 years ago, Czechs began a "beer diplomacy" program aimed at craft brewers in North America. It's been a success.

...a UK PR person said it's because I write for BBC Travel and the Telegraph. Huh. I also write for the LA Times and San Francisco Chronicle, but no one assumes I live in California. I write for the Washington Post frequently, but no one has ever mistaken me for a DC denizen. I'm still confused!

About 2x per week, I get an email from a London-based PR person inviting me to an event in London or implying in the email that I'm UK based. I'm baffled by this since 1) I'm not British and 2) I've never lived in the UK. When I recently expressed bewilderment about this...

One of my favorite things about living in NYC is fetching money from an ATM in Queens where, often, you have the option to conduct the transaction in one of 16 different languages. I always do it in English—I'd be lost in Hindi, Thai, etc.—but I just love what that says about the place I live.

NYC

As she was walking out, Park Posey marched in toward the cash register, strode past Japanese girl #2, grabbed her glasses, and then walked out. Japanese girl #2, held the door open for her, and Parker went about her day, having no idea about the drama over her sunglasses that had just taken place.

There was some heated talking as Japanese girl #1 pointed at the sunglasses that Japanese girl #2 was holding and then pointed in the direction back inside the restaurant.

30 seconds later, Japanese girl #2, shrugged and walked inside and put the sunglasses back on the counter.

They walked out after paying and her sunglasses were still on the counter.

A minute later, two Japanese females went up to pay and one of them took Parker’s sunglasses with her. When they got outside, I could see Japanese girl #1 lecturing Japanese girl #2, about the sunglasses.

One day about 17 or so years ago, I was eating breakfast at Veselka in the East Village, and I saw Parker Posey and Ryan Adams eating a few tables away. This is when they were dating. Eventually, they went up to the cash register to pay. Parker was holding these over-sized sunglasses.

Since everyone’s talking about Parker Posey at the moment, I recall having a few encounters with her, one of which was randomly encountering her near her E. 10th Street apartment and chatting about her little white dog.

The other, though, was the most memorable:

After asking him a few questions about the film he was promoting, I posed an oddball question: if you were my alarm clock and had to wake me up, how would you do it? He paused for a few seconds and then said, "I have no idea. Next question." RIP Val Kilmer. When I die, please don't wake me up.

I was ushered into the suite and placed at a table. Mr. Kilmer, sitting on a couch about 30 feet away, spent about 3 long minutes sitting there before getting up and walking toward me. It all felt very choreographed (because it probably was).

"I have good news," said the PR person in the elevator, as we made our way up to a suite in the Fairmont San Francisco. "He's in a good mood today." She was referring to Val Kilmer. I was about to interview him and apparently he was known for being not so gracious in these situations.

Trump's talk of running for a 3rd term is just a diversion to 1) get the media to turn away from the Signal-gate scandal and 2) to keep any Republicans from announcing they're going to run for the 2028 nomination, so the attention remains on Don and also so he doesn't look like a lame duck.

No one can drive you crazy unless you give them the keys.

the HEAT MEAT!

Impressive alliteration!

So many airport lounges are increasingly restricting access for travelers—such as myself—with @prioritypass.bsky.social. Perhaps they should consider re-naming it to Increasingly Limited Priority Pass™.

"Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it..."
— Jonathan Swift

“The truth is different these days; it’s more of a hunch you’re willing to die for.”
— Homer Simpson

I'm visiting my family in the LA area and last night after dinner at a sushi spot, we called an Uber to take us from the door of the restaurant to our car, parked about 200 feet away in the parking lot. Not really. But I wouldn't be surprised if someone here did that. Since #NodbodyWalksInLA

Some real examples: "La Novia" (The Bride), "La Ventana" (The Window), "El Toro" (The Bull), "Oso" (Bear), "Empressa" (Company), "Bello Gente" (Beautiful People)--which should be "Bella Gente," and my favorite "Antonio," which you can find at an intersection with "Banderas" (Flags) Street.

Many of the streets where my family lives—around San Juan Capistrano and Ladera Ranch in Orange County, California—have Spanish names and I'm convinced a non-Spanish speaker named them by opening a Spanish dictionary and pointing to random words.

Looking For the Best Beer in Prague? Start Here. For centuries, this Central European city has been a hop head mecca. Which pints should you prioritize? We’ve rounded up 5 standout breweries, from a historic monastery to a former auto shop.

Last month, I spent 10 days in Prague hanging out with brew masters and people who love beer. It was terrible. Just kidding. It was bibulously fun. The result is this WSJ article on small breweries outside the center of Prague. Gift link. www.wsj.com/lifestyle/tr...

There are many reasons to be both outraged and embarrassed by the Trump Administration but the way he and JD Vance treated and talked to Volodymyr Zelensky was downright disrespectful and a national embarrassment.

I recently waxed on about travel and travel writing on the Intrepid Times podcast: intrepidtimes.com/2025/02/bigg...

Reason #457 why I love Spain: my mother-in-law, who had not been feeling well lately, lamented to me this morning that she couldn't get proper high-quality jamon Iberico for my visit. The good news is that you can't throw a croqueta in this country without finding good jamon. I'll buy some today!

It’s Not a Bad Pour. It’s a Mlíko. At a small but growing subset of American breweries, a wave of obscure, foam-heavy Czech beers is swelling.

I hate the way bartenders in the US pour a pint of beer and am happy to see some bartenders are starting to learn from the Czechs about how to pour a proper pint—with a nice, foamy head. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/d...

I'm always excited to read an article called "The Most Anticipated New York Restaurant Openings for 2025," except for when I realize it should be titled, "The Most Anticipated New York Restaurant Openings Someone Like Me Won't Get a Table at Until at Least the End of 2025"