● Ames Hotel (Cambridge) - Bringing some NY flavor to the Beantown hotel crop.

Kevin Long stretches his expertise over state lines on a daily basis. He serves as executive chef at both SHRINE Asian Kitchen, Lounge and Nightclub at MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort Casino and Scorpion Bar, located in Foxwoods Casino. Long also heads the kitchen at Tosca and Caffe Tosca in Hingham, Massachusetts. Humbly starting his career at family restaurants on Boston’s South Shore, Long rose to work alongside one of his idols, Thomas Keller, at The James Beard House and the Park Avenue Cafe.

The way the car rental market is right now, you're lucky to get a rate lower than $50 a day. Companies like Avis, Budget, Alamo, and Thrifty are squeezing their customers but good. However, if you're super-flexible and want to take a road trip, there are deals to be had. If you've ever wanted to go to Disney World or Key West or Miami, and you happen to be close to the Houston, Boston, or Providence airports, and (the kicker) you have the time to make a southern/eastern road trip between now and November 15, this is the deal for you. Should you fit into all those rigid requirements of geography, inclination, and time off, you can drive for just a dollar a day (plus taxes, gas, lodging, hookers, etc.) from Texas or New England down to Florida.

At last, beantowners can trade in their DUIs for BUIs (which by the way are a much lesser offense) and get home on two wheels, hopefully running over nothing more than an errant soda can. The Bixi bike is set to arrive in Boston in the near future. A hybrid of "taxi" and "bike," Bixi is the Montreal version of the oh-so-popular bike-sharing system that sprung from Paris two years ago (though that program certainly has its problems). Bixi bikes have the added benefit of being eco-friendly, as they are solar powered.

● Post 390 (Back Bay) - There's a new king in Back Bay dining, and it delivers on all fronts.
● Ginger Park (South End) - After killing it in NYC, chef Patricia Yeo brings her nouveau Asian flair to Beantown at this sharer's paradise.

● Eastern Standard (Fenway) - This huge bar and restaurant is always packed because of its proximity to Fenway Park. They also have some of the best bartenders in the city, many of whom have branched out into the other spots below. If your bartender apprenticed here, you know you're in good hands. Try the Whiskey Smash -- they've served 21,000 in the past four years.
● Craigie on Main (Cambridge) - The food here is justifiably renowned, but the bar deserves a lot of credit too. Stop in for an impromptu lecture on the history of the martini while it's being made, or just let them mix you a Threadneedle Pimm’s, replete with pineapple syrup and juniper branches.
● Drink (Fort Point) - Another gathering spot for the area's best bartenders who are drawn to the creative theme of the bar. No drink list, just spirit and flavor suggestions from the customers. Allows for experimentation on the fly, and an opportunity to school us noobs on what a cocktail really is.

[See part 1 of Paper Route's tour blog.]

I'm not gonna lie. In fact, I'm pretty bad at lying. Unless you consider exaggerating a lie. If that's the case, I'm screwed. But this is beside the point. I'm not gonna lie. We've been invited by BlackBook to blog about this tour. Consistently documenting the highs and lows of touring, then turning in our tour "gems" at the end of the week. I would love to say that I've been on top of this ... but the reality of the situation is that besides driving, unloading gear, playing shows, loading gear, playing after shows, and sleeping on seats perfectly designed to ruin your back, all I've done is draw pictures (to keep my brain moving) and take some photographs. I haven't revisited any of these, so there's a chance I'm even a bit more intrigued than you. Let's begin ...

Bars are expensive. And people are broke. So it's no wonder in-room service is on the rise these days, with nearly 77% of travelers taking advantage of in-room selections once during their stay. With that in mind, some forward-thinking hotels in cities around the US have amped up an oft-dismissed amenity to keep their guests from straying and spending shiny nickels elsewhere. To keep you and yours in-situ and in-ebriated, these sharp crash pads are offering beefed-up luxury versions of their mini bar. We'll call it the not-so-mini bar. You'll call it your little in-room drinking buddy. Check out a few examples of the haute mini bar done right.

Chester French is not a man. In fact, it’s D.A. Wallach and Maxwell Drummey, two Harvard grads who didn’t really have a plan. On the eve of their much-anticipated release of their much-hyped debut album, we got them to dish on everything from Facebook and fellow Harvard grad Mark Zuckerberg, to safe sex and bigger condoms, biddies, divorce and the JoBros. The duo also explains why they felt the need to create a personal VIP concierge service, and how Lady Gaga is going to "cream everyone over" on their upcoming tour with her. Scholarly young gentlemen, take it away.

JetBlue has resorted to baseball jerseys to find their latest marketing campaigns. Currently you can take advantage of the "Manny Ramirez" sale which celebrates the baseball star's triumphant acquisition by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Manny, who was wooed with a $45 million two-year contract, is coming to play with the Dodgers fresh from an eight-year stint with the Boston Red Sox. Manny sports the number 99, which is what JetBlue is charging for one-way tickets between Los Angeles the airline's home base of JFK (or LA and Manny's former hometown of Boston). Coincidentally, turns out it's not such a great idea to pack crack cocaine on your flight to Tulsa.