Features
Falling Up
"The cigar has been an outstanding prop in the making of comedy for years," actor Michael Richards says. "Milton Berle, Ernie Kovacs, George Burns, W.C. Fields and Groucho …
Puro Chile, Santiago, Chile
By now, just about everybody has heard that Chile is the success story of Latin America. Its economy has been in continuous boom for a dozen years. Politicians heatedly debate …
Sam & Harry's, Washington, D.C.
Do not call to make a reservation and then ask if Sam or Harry will be in that night. They are present every night, in a painting of jazz musicians hanging on the back wall of …
The Wild Boar, Nashville
When you walk through the door of The Wild Boar, your first impression is that of a museum. An eclectic collection of items, such as sixteenth-century Austrian throne chairs, rich …
Above It All: Hot Air Ballooning
You arrive before daybreak, jacket pulled tight against the chill of an early desert morning. The dawning light reveals what looks like a giant quilt laid out on the dusty ground, …
Buying High-End Audio Equipment
What distinguishes high-end audio gear from the "rack systems" sold at your local appliance store? Contrary to popular belief, it is not a matter of volume or bass response or the …
Che's Habanos
Editor's note: Che Guevara was an Argentina-born revolutionary, political theorist and major force in Fidel Castro's insurrection in Cuba. As a student, he trained as a doctor, …
Coats of Arms
Topcoats, as is true of most men's fashion of the modern world, had their beginnings in either battle or sport. This has clearly been in evidence for the past several seasons, as …
Diamond Dreams
A touch of the doorbell sounds "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." It's just the first hint of the sensory overload to come. The rooms of Barry Halper's northern New Jersey home are so …
Leading Las Vegas
You're in Las Vegas. You've got money in your pocket. And you've got a strong opinion on the Monday Night Football game. You wander into a sports book, where virtually …
Selling the Smokes: Vintage Cigar Ads
Good ads make arguments. The argument includes a promise, the promise being that if we buy this product, we will become the kind of person the ad depicts. So if one purchases a …
Tennis, Everyone?
When Arthur Ashe hoisted the champion's trophy in the first U.S. Open in 1968, who could imagine that the fledgling tennis tournament would one day be transformed into one of the …
The Concorde: Faster Than Sound
Concorde, the world's first and only supersonic airliner, looks as if it came out of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey . Back when Concorde was under construction it was a …
The Name Game: Collecting Signed First Editions
Some years ago I stopped at a used bookstore that was going out of business and came across a fine first edition of J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye behind a locked glass …
Water World: Shopping for Spas and Whirlpools
Lying in a bubbly spa, her bare shoulders eased back to enjoy the full pressure of the 100 gallon per minute Volcano jets, Ms. Dimension One is having her neck massaged. While the …
Going, Going, Gone!
The temperature in Christie's wood-paneled auction room has climbed a notch. A third bidder has just waded in for a run at a Claude Monet painting of water lilies estimated to …
Dr. Stable and Mr. Hip
Hector Elizondo is not what he appears to be. People see him on television every week playing Dr. Phillip Watters, the embodiment of dignified authority on "Chicago Hope"--the …
Hotel Excelsior, Florence, Italy
Florence offers its visitors great art, great shopping, great vistas and great food. And it boasts at least one great hotel--the Hotel Excelsior. At the epicenter of Western …
Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort, San Antonio, Texas
Out of the car's rear-view mirror, the tall buildings of San Antonio's downtown fade into the dusk and the neon glows from malls and shopping centers lining the Interstate 410 …
Cigars
Avo Uvezian: The Man in the White Suit
The cigar showman in his mimbre hat and Brioni suit, Avo Uvezian is as recognizable as the cigar that bears his name
Cuban Comeback
Though Still Beset by Tobacco Shortages, Cuba Gears Up to Meet the Demand
Great Moments
I couldn't tell which was thicker--the smoke or the nostalgia. The source of the smoke was the disappearing cigar collection of Frank L. Rizzo, the late police commissioner-turned…
Grand Havana Room, New York City
New meaning has been given to the phrase, "Being on top of the world." Today, in New York City, that means being a member of the Grand Havana Room, the East Coast counterpart of …
French Cinema's Reluctant Genius
Jean-Luc Godard makes incomprehensible films appreciated by tiny audiences, and he has no intention of changing.
Powers That Be
In a life marked by one great love and a staggering loss, Stefanie Powers emerges as a woman of uncommon strength.
Ratings from this Issue
Up Front
An Adult Pleasure
The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta recently alerted the world to what it identifies as a new problem: teens smoking cigars. In a well-orchestrated campaign, the CDC …
Out of the Humidor
Dear Marvin, In two and a half years of smoking cigars I've come across many different situations, but none quite as good as this. I was recently enjoying my Montecruz on …