Halfway up, I had some regrets.  It was too late by then. We had rappelled down the face of a frozen waterfall, lowered ourselves seventy-five feet into an unknown gorge, and now the only way out was back up the waterfall. So, regretful or not, exhausted or not, arms like jelly or not, I had one …

A drive down Parsells Avenue, between the Beechwood and Culver-Merchants neighborhoods, takes you past houses, a few corner markets, and a church. Unless you slow down, you might miss a German enclave that’s been on the avenue since the mid-1920s. Swan Market is a German delicatessen that also serves up lunch cuisine, but this isn’t …

For all its downsides, there are worse places in America to distill whiskey than New York State. In Virginia, bootlegged alcohol is seen as enough of a problem that the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control is a virtual standing army. In Kentucky, Jack Daniels Whiskey has the dubious distinction of being distilled in Moore, a dry …

Sound is the first sensation that assails you at Druk Spices Grocery Store. Sight and taste will come if you linger, but sound dominates this Nepali corner store on State Street. Children’s clumsy footfalls and shrieks compete with housewives’ high-pitched price checks in their native tongue, all blended with the buzz of a cooler holding …

During the depths of winter, upstate New Yorkers daydream of warmer climes. Fortunately, when it’s impossible to vacation under the palms, a decent Mexican place is never far from home. Most fit squarely in the “comfort food” genre, with fishbowl margarita slushies and combination platters featuring enchiladas swimming in bright red sauce. Tasty and filling …

The plazas and big box stores of Dewey Avenue frame a solid facade for subur- ban streets trailing into the night. One particular shop, though, lodged between a collision garage and Chinese restaurant, breaks the stream of white fluorescent with a kaleidoscope of neon. Past this mirage of color lies a wonderland of amusements that has …