2017 Editors' Picks: Emily DeNitto
Whether it’s outstanding service, impeccable artistry or exquisite manufacturing, excellence can take many forms. But what a person defines as excellent also depends on his or her own individual taste. In the Editors’ Picks series, Worth staff members share their favorite products, services and experiences for you to look into this year. Click through to see executive editor Emily DeNitto’s selections.
Hotel Hassler
Rome
A prized spot for one of the city’s most elegant hotels.
Is there a hotel in Rome that’s better located than the Hotel Hassler? Set at the top of the Spanish Steps, the Hassler is easy walking distance to everything from the Villa Borghese to the Trevi Fountain to the Coliseum. During a visit in late fall, I walked out the door and spent hours meandering the surrounding streets, marveling at the way the millennia rub up against each other in that ancient city. But the Hassler gives visitors plenty of reasons to stay put as well. Its rooftop terrace (and penthouse) provides 360-degree views of the city. Its cozy little bar mixes up extraordinary house-created cocktails in an elegant setting that evokes some of the personalities, from Audrey Hepburn to Princess Diana, who have stayed at and celebrated the hotel. There’s Imàgo, the Hassler’s Michelin-starred restaurant, for sophisticated fare, and Salone Eva, where you can get hearty pastas, crusty breads and other classic Italian delicacies. And then there are the rooms themselves: grand but with such comforting details, from plush beds to deep soaker tubs, that they feel intimate. Stay in or venture out, either way you win.
Rates start at €484 a night, booking@hotelhassler.it, 39.06.699340, hotelhasslerroma.com
Castle Hill Inn
Newport, Rhode Island
Humble joys amid Gilded Age grandeur.
It was a stormy spring day when I made my way north from New York to visit Castle Hill Inn—at times the rain was so intense I couldn't see through my windshield even with the wipers going at full speed. All that stress melted away, however, as soon as I got to my cottage room, mere feet from one of the most dramatic coastlines in the United States. Established in 1875, Castle Hill is a lovely base for exploring the beautiful and historically fascinating city of Newport. But my favorite part of staying at the inn was taking a cooking class (offered occasionally) with chef Lou Rossi. Raised in the area, Rossi honed his talents at New York’s Per Se before returning to his roots, Italian American cuisine, as executive chef at Castle Hill. I learned a lot from Rossi’s technique, his stories—and from the gracious meal the class enjoyed with him, accompanied by wines from Castle Hill’s excellent cellar, in a private room overlooking that inspiring coast.
Rates start at $355 a night, 401.849.3800, castlehillinn.com
Mark Ryan Winery Premium Three-Bottle Gift Box
Woodinville, Washington
A great way to explore an exciting wine region.
I’ll admit to not knowing a lot about Washington wines, and that only added to the pleasure of discovery I experienced in drinking the three components of a premium gift box from Mark Ryan late in the year. The box included a 2015 Dead Horse, a 2015 Long Haul and a 2014 Lonely Heart. All three had a distinctively concentrated, dark berry, smooth taste that expanded as I drank. Delicious and inspiring, they had me dreaming about a trip to the northwest to better explore what the region has to offer. The Lonely Heart, a cabernet sauvignon, was my favorite. It’s sold out, but I’d try anything that Mark Ryan—a boutique winery that consistently wins high points—has to offer.
$210 a box, markryanwinery.com
Frasca
Boulder, Colorado
Sophistication with heart.
There’s nothing quite like dropping your child off at college for the first time. The intensity of the experience, a mix of pride, happiness and longing—it’s funny how your heart can expand and contract at the same time—may be part of the reason I’ll never forget my meal at Frasca. The restaurant serves exquisitely prepared high-end Italian fare—from mishima beef with black truffle and puntarelle to house-made cavatelli with Dungeness crab, pepperoncino and sea urchin—but the experience is completely welcoming, almost informal. “You’re just starting college here, aren’t you?” the waitress asked my daughter, immediately intuiting that she needed some extra attention. “I know just how you feel…” Everyone in the place, and the terrific food and wine, helped sustain us as we moved into an exciting new chapter of our lives.
303.442.6966, frascafoodandwine.com
Photo by Megan Swann
The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante
Novels that speak to our time.
I know I’m late to the game—My Brilliant Friend, the first of Ferrante’s quartet, was published in the U.S. in 2012—but I didn’t get to this astonishing story of a friendship between two women in mid-century Naples, Italy, until this year. My loss. Except that, this year of women’s voices, from the Women’s March in January to the #MeToo movement, was the perfect background for the novels. All four are compelling, fresh, layered, fascinating—and they illuminate women’s experiences in a way few others have ever done. I devoured them.
Europa Editions, europaeditions.com
Hotel Hassler
Rome
A prized spot for one of the city’s most elegant hotels.
Is there a hotel in Rome that’s better located than the Hotel Hassler? Set at the top of the Spanish Steps, the Hassler is easy walking distance to everything from the Villa Borghese to the Trevi Fountain to the Coliseum. During a visit in late fall, I walked out the door and spent hours meandering the surrounding streets, marveling at the way the millennia rub up against each other in that ancient city. But the Hassler gives visitors plenty of reasons to stay put as well. Its rooftop terrace (and penthouse) provides 360-degree views of the city. Its cozy little bar mixes up extraordinary house-created cocktails in an elegant setting that evokes some of the personalities, from Audrey Hepburn to Princess Diana, who have stayed at and celebrated the hotel. There’s Imàgo, the Hassler’s Michelin-starred restaurant, for sophisticated fare, and Salone Eva, where you can get hearty pastas, crusty breads and other classic Italian delicacies. And then there are the rooms themselves: grand but with such comforting details, from plush beds to deep soaker tubs, that they feel intimate. Stay in or venture out, either way you win.
Rates start at €484 a night, booking@hotelhassler.it, 39.06.699340, hotelhasslerroma.com
Castle Hill Inn
Newport, Rhode Island
Humble joys amid Gilded Age grandeur.
It was a stormy spring day when I made my way north from New York to visit Castle Hill Inn—at times the rain was so intense I couldn't see through my windshield even with the wipers going at full speed. All that stress melted away, however, as soon as I got to my cottage room, mere feet from one of the most dramatic coastlines in the United States. Established in 1875, Castle Hill is a lovely base for exploring the beautiful and historically fascinating city of Newport. But my favorite part of staying at the inn was taking a cooking class (offered occasionally) with chef Lou Rossi. Raised in the area, Rossi honed his talents at New York’s Per Se before returning to his roots, Italian American cuisine, as executive chef at Castle Hill. I learned a lot from Rossi’s technique, his stories—and from the gracious meal the class enjoyed with him, accompanied by wines from Castle Hill’s excellent cellar, in a private room overlooking that inspiring coast.
Rates start at $355 a night, 401.849.3800, castlehillinn.com
Mark Ryan Winery Premium Three-Bottle Gift Box
Woodinville, Washington
A great way to explore an exciting wine region.
I’ll admit to not knowing a lot about Washington wines, and that only added to the pleasure of discovery I experienced in drinking the three components of a premium gift box from Mark Ryan late in the year. The box included a 2015 Dead Horse, a 2015 Long Haul and a 2014 Lonely Heart. All three had a distinctively concentrated, dark berry, smooth taste that expanded as I drank. Delicious and inspiring, they had me dreaming about a trip to the northwest to better explore what the region has to offer. The Lonely Heart, a cabernet sauvignon, was my favorite. It’s sold out, but I’d try anything that Mark Ryan—a boutique winery that consistently wins high points—has to offer.
$210 a box, markryanwinery.com
Frasca
Boulder, Colorado
Sophistication with heart.
There’s nothing quite like dropping your child off at college for the first time. The intensity of the experience, a mix of pride, happiness and longing—it’s funny how your heart can expand and contract at the same time—may be part of the reason I’ll never forget my meal at Frasca. The restaurant serves exquisitely prepared high-end Italian fare—from mishima beef with black truffle and puntarelle to house-made cavatelli with Dungeness crab, pepperoncino and sea urchin—but the experience is completely welcoming, almost informal. “You’re just starting college here, aren’t you?” the waitress asked my daughter, immediately intuiting that she needed some extra attention. “I know just how you feel…” Everyone in the place, and the terrific food and wine, helped sustain us as we moved into an exciting new chapter of our lives.
303.442.6966, frascafoodandwine.com
Photo by Megan Swann
The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante
Novels that speak to our time.
I know I’m late to the game—My Brilliant Friend, the first of Ferrante’s quartet, was published in the U.S. in 2012—but I didn’t get to this astonishing story of a friendship between two women in mid-century Naples, Italy, until this year. My loss. Except that, this year of women’s voices, from the Women’s March in January to the #MeToo movement, was the perfect background for the novels. All four are compelling, fresh, layered, fascinating—and they illuminate women’s experiences in a way few others have ever done. I devoured them.
Europa Editions, europaeditions.com
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