Editors' Picks 2018: Benjamin Reeves

Geronimo

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Nestled along Canyon Road in Santa Fe’s hip arts district, Geronimo has deservedly developed a reputation as one of the best restaurants in the city. The fare is delectable New American cuisine, ranging from green chili mac and cheese to tellicherry-rubbed elk tenderloin, but the real fun is had at the bar. Order the green chili mezcal margarita and enjoy the chatter of socialites, who all seem to be recently decamped from New York and LA, as they argue about real estate and trade the latest very silly gossip. Entrees start at $27, geronimorestaurant.com

The Compound

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Down the hill a bit from Geronimo is Santa Fe’s other bastion of culinary prowess, The Compound. Reservations are a must, even at the bar, and there’s a reason. The seasonal menu is expertly executed, and the vibe is pure, low-key culinary bliss. On a late summer night, a crisp Caesar salad perfectly complemented a serving of pappardelle pasta with freshly foraged chanterelle mushrooms. Whatever you order, pair it with one of the city’s ubiquitous chili-infused cocktails and conversation with your dining companions (on this visit, the chamber music festival was the topic du jour). You can’t go wrong here. Entrees start at $26, compoundrestaurant.com

InterContinental Washington, D.C.

D.C.’s newly developed District Wharf neighborhood boasts one of the finest hotels on the eastern seaboard, the Intercontinental D.C. Rooms boast scenic views of the Potomac River, National Airport and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. The hotel itself is modern, sleek and comes with all of the amenities you might need or want—from fine dining at Kith/Kin to a rooftop pool—but nothing that you don’t. The hotel is well situated near core cultural offerings and the National Mall, and is just a short cab ride from key points of business. And the Wharf itself is replete with dining, shopping and live entertainment venues. wharfintercontinentaldc.com

Jaguar F-Type Convertible

The Jaguar F-Type Convertible is one of the best buys for sports car lovers on the market today. I wrote about this a few months ago, and it still rings true. (Read the full review here.) If you get the chance to drive one, especially come spring, put the roof down, crank up some tunes and chew some highway. You won’t regret it. jaguarusa.com/all-models/f-type

Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue

By Ryan Holiday

The bankruptcy-inducing lawsuit against Gawker.com by professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, aka Terry Bollea, is one of the strangest, and potentially most consequential, legal cases in recent years. The lawsuit brought a chill to the press in the United States, calling into question many of the legal protections that publishers took for granted, and showed billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, who secretly financed the lawsuit, to be a capable of taking truly Machiavellian revenge on his enemies. Others saw the lawsuit as a necessary blow against gossip mongers run amok. Ryan Holiday unravels the conspiracy that brought down Gawker and builds the story around rare interview material with Thiel himself. Portfolio, $17, 336 pages

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Joel and Ethan Coen have created a quixotic yet haunting experiment in filmmaking with their latest picture, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Produced for Netflix, the film takes on the old American West in all of its glory and violence, but with the Coens’ unique, subtle humor. Divided into chapters which relate only thematically, not narratively, the film paints a complete portrait of an era and a place that exists only in our collective unconscious. The travails of a lone gold miner who faces death under the watchful eyes of a mother owl feel like a metaphor for modern life. Yet exactly what that metaphor means seems to slip away like flecks of gold in a river. netflix.com/title/80200267