For Haitian Americans like the chef Gregory Gourdet, 49, potato salad bears little resemblance to the deli counter mainstay. Growing up in Queens, he instead ate salade russe, a traditional Haitian recipe in which potatoes are combined with peas, onions and beets, which turn the dish bubble gum pink. Today, Gourdet serves his own take on that dish as part of the summer menu at his restaurant Kann in Portland, Ore., smoking the beets and binding the ingredients with creamy rémoulade. It’s just one of a number of variations on Russian potato salad, known as Olivier — which was created in 19th-century Moscow and now shows up everywhere from Sweden to Korea — currently appearing on restaurant menus. At Eel Bar on New York’s Lower East Side, the chef-partner Aaron Crowder, 39, makes what he describes as a “New York version of the Spanish version of Russian potato salad,” informed by the ensaladilla rusa served at tapas bars that often includes green olives and roasted red peppers. He tops his with orange trout roe. Tyler Akin, 41, the chef and a partner at the Mediterranean restaurant Bastia in Philadelphia, makes potato confit in chicken fat and then mixes it with saffron-spiked aioli and shavings of Sardinian bottarga. Potato salad, he says, “just so clearly wants to be served warm and soft,” like the bacon-flecked, mayo-free German-style version that his family favors.
4 New Train Routes We're Excited to Take in 2025
25.11.2024 - 22:41 / cntraveler.com / Vita La-Dolce
With the launch of new train routes, high-speed rail projects, and ultra-luxury journeys, 2025 promises to be yet another exciting year for rail travel enthusiasts.
In the US, travelers can expect to finally see long-awaited Amtrak updates, including the return of its New Orleans-bound route from Mobile, Alabama for the first time in 20 years, plus the rollout of the new high-speed Acela fleet on the Northeast Corridor. Further away, the so-called rail renaissance will also pick up speed, with plenty of new options for tourists to plan train-centric adventures in Europe, the Middle East, and beyond.
The most captivating routes debuting next year will whisk passengers through a variety of cultural sites and landscapes, from the verdant English countryside to the snow-capped Alps. Below, see four of the most notable new train journeys scheduled to launch in 2025 that are worth planning a trip around.
Beginning in July 2025, the Explorer will begin trips out of London to Cornwall, Wales, and the Lake District.
The launch of a new Belmond train is truly an event in the world of rail travel. And next year, luxury train enthusiasts will be treated to the debut of the Britannic Explorer, a brand new Belmond line traversing the UK countryside. Beginning in July 2025, the Explorer will begin trips out of London to Cornwall, Wales, and the Lake District. Additional stops and activities along the three different routes include a private party in a “quintessential” Cotswolds pub, a black-tie gala at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire, and an exclusive Cornish wine tasting overlooking St Michael’s Mount. Time spent on board the new train will be just as memorable, with a beautifully understated dining car designed to evoke an English garden, a wellness spa, and a combination lounge-observation car, where guests can grab a cocktail inspired by Victorian apothecaries and watch the striking landscapes roll by.
The opportunity to explore Saudi Arabia’s stunning desert by luxury train will be a reality by the end of 2025. A new 41-cabin train, called the Dream of the Desert, is slated to run over nearly 800 miles of track, stretching through the kingdom’s interior from the capital city of Riyadh to Al Qurayyat, near the Jordanian border. On the one or two-night journeys, travelers will pass otherworldly landscapes, rugged peaks, and notable sites such as the King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Royal Natural Reserve. Saudi Arabia Railways is collaborating on the project with Arsenale Group, an Italian company that has built luxury trains like the Orient Express La Dolce Vita. Details of the train’s interior have yet to be released, but we know there’ll be upscale dining and lounge cars—and that once the train is completed,
TAP Air Portugal Just Added 3 New U.S. Flights, Including a New Route to the “Hawai‘i of Europe”
Travelers in Northern California are about to get a direct flight to the Azores, a lesser-visited Portuguese island paradise. This offbeat routing is one of a trio of seasonal routes that TAP Air Portugal is launching for the summer of 2025, which will also include flights from its newest U.S. gateway, Los Angeles.
JetBlue Is Cutting Routes from NYC, Miami, and More — What to Know
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Avelo announces 10 new routes, 2 new bases in latest expansion
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These U.S. Cities Are Getting New Direct Routes to Portugal Next Year — What to Know
TAP Air Portugal is making it easier to plan a getaway to Europe next year with three new flights from the United States, including one from Los Angeles for the first time.
TAP Air Portugal adds 3 new interesting transatlantic routes to Portugal
Summer 2025 is shaping up to be one of the biggest on record for transatlantic flying.
Stowaway on Flight to Paris Disrupts a Return Flight to New York
The same passenger who was discovered stowing away on a Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Paris earlier in the week became unruly aboard a returning flight on Saturday, delaying the plane’s departure, an aviation official said.
Amtrak's Popular New York State Route Will Be Back in Service Next Week
Amtrak has agreed to temporarily fully restore the popular Empire Service line ahead of the busy holiday travel season, making it easier for New Yorkers to access the Hudson Valley and beyond.
EVA Air announces DFW as 7th US airport, with nonstop Taipei service in 2025
America's second-busiest airport is getting a new nonstop flight to Taiwan.
Coming soon: Renumbered gates at New York's JFK Airport
"Is it Gate 22 in Terminal 1, Terminal 5 or Terminal 8?"
United Airlines cuts 3 routes, but adds 3 others and starts a turf war
United Airlines is making some noteworthy changes to its network.
Inside New York JFK's new Terminal One, a massive $9.5 billion flagship terminal
It's been years in the making, and the finish line is now within sight: The transformed John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is just a little more than a year away from opening.