Weekly A to Z, April 29th.

Honestly, just go to Serbia — we had such an amazing experience (and special thanks to Blacklane for the ride home).?Check out the highlights of our trip here.

While in Belgrade, we were able to visit?Homa?for lunch, which was such a lovely meal.?Check out our visit here. I also need to shout out?Belgrade Cocktail Club,?Iva New Balkan Cuisine,?Dogma,?Draft, and?Angry Monk?as venues to add to your list if in the city.

On Wednesday, I was straight back into Dubai life and attended the?Kaviari?and champagne dinner at?Ossiano. A range of bubbles? Check. Continued culinary creativity from Chef Gregoire? You know it.?Check out my visit here. #invited

On Friday, I went to?Dalia’s new place, Zinn, which has locations at both Fit Republik and Studio Republik, and then over to Dubai Eye. Dalia is serving up original food (crepes!) (tartines!), and I can’t wait to return and try more (breakfast! lemon pasta!).

Before I share links, I want to pay tribute to one of the local legends of hospitality, Jochem-Jan “JJ” Sleiffer, president of Hilton in Middle East, Africa and Turkey,?who unexpectedly passed away this week. Through my work, I had the wonderful chance to meet and connect with him over the years. In fact, we chatted most recently on Monday when I went for drinks at the Hilton Belgrade, a hotel he helped open. Even at such a senior level, he was always open for a conversation — something I never took for granted. JJ was a true class act, and will sincerely be missed in the community. My condolences go to the entire Hilton family (past and present).

Links, please.

• Back on Dubai Eye.?Listen from 51:00.?Spotify
• What is your family's secret language? Eric and I have an entire vocabulary that would make sense to no one.?The Atlantic
• The?four stages?of recipe development.?Food Processing
• Please eat?in the library.?Taste
• Mental health benefits?of spring cleaning.?Vogue
• Loved hearing?Stasha on Nourish.?Spinneys
• Do you think there should be a?dress code for first class??OMAAT
• Carry on essentials.?Thrillist
• What will happen if I order a?whiskey, neat.?New Yorker
• How to break your?screen time addiction.?Vogue
• Taco Bell’s?innovation kitchen.?New Yorker
• Canva Pro?is the design software that makes design simple, convenient, and reliable. Create amazing content quickly – no design skills needed.?#sponsored
• Louis Vuitton’s?dream experience.?The Cut
• ??.?Stylist
• Is Disneyland?too expensive??LA Times
• What is really going on in?ghost kitchens??YouTube
• The ‘Champagne of Beers’ runs into?legal trouble.?NPR
• ChatGPT for?new American.?Bon Appetit
• Best US airport food.?Food & Wine
• Need to make these?blueberry cookies.?The Kitchn
• What is a?singular M&M??Tasting Table
• Do you wake up in the middle of the night??Here are some tips to fall back asleep.?Real Simple
• Some of the best home run celebrations. (Our household is Team Savannah Bananas, but we’re also fans of the Trash Pandas and the Y’alls).?Washington Post
• Why does music?give us chills??Mental Floss
• Having your own?Wagyu herd.?Eater

This weekend? The Tresind Studio collaboration!

Next week? ATM, and catching up with my life. With upcoming trips to Doha, India, and Spain (?), the next two months are filling in.

Best of the month? April offered quite a range of food, but my favorites included Chef Gregoire’s smoked salmon infusion | Plankton dish (I think you might see this in the new menu next month), the chicken bicep at Honeycomb Hifi, and for the first time, I’m going to include a drink on the list! The speakeasy vibes and ultra-cool staff at the Belgrade Cocktail Club made our experience such a memorable one. I had an upgraded Cosmopolitan and loved it so much that we returned for a repeat visit later in our trip.

If you enjoy this newsletter and want to support me,?consider?working with me, sharing this newsletter,?purchasing my books?(or these novels), or?buying me coffee. Archives of the Weekly A to Z?can be found here.

C.