Pitches for Charlie at Conde Nast Traveler

Hed: The $2 Zongzi Worth the Hunt in NYC’s Chinatown

I’d love to profile the “Zongzi Lady,” an older Chinese woman who appears outside the Grand Street subway with two cardboard boxes of handmade zongzi priced at $2–3 apiece, a figure frozen in time even as everything around her shifts. Her husband trained as a zongzi master in Quanzhou, and together they’re quietly preserving a disappearing craft at a moment when Chinatown’s informal food culture is being pushed out by gentrification and tighter regulation. With no stall, no schedule, and no online footprint, she’s become an urban legend, the antithesis of today’s algorithm-driven, overexposed food scene. In an era when TikTok turns every neighborhood secret into a hotspot overnight, her work represents an older, more intimate form of culinary connection. I grew up in Hong Kong eating zongzi, so this hits close to home for me, and I’d love to talk with her and her husband about how they’ve managed to hold onto this tradition as the neighborhood transforms around them.

Hed: The Bavarian-Themed Town With Surprisingly Good Food

Leavenworth, Washington looks like you’ve stepped into the set of a Bavarian-themed Hallmark film, so I went in fully expecting the food to be forgettable, the way it often is once you’re outside a major U.S. city. Instead, I was surprised by a genuinely ambitious, chef-driven restaurant scene that has nothing to do with the kitschy backdrop. With Kayak naming it the #1 Sleepcation Destination in the U.S., more travelers than ever are headed there, and they should know the food is worth the trip as much as the mountains. I’d love to dig into how this tiny themed town ended up with such an unexpected culinary scene, talking with chefs about why they chose Leavenworth of all places and how they cook serious food inside a town that looks like a postcard from Bavaria.

Hed: Where to Travel Like You’re in The Gilded Age

With The Gilded Age returning for its fourth season in late 2026 and the historic Vanderbilt estate Elm Court set to reopen as a hotel in early 2028, I’d like to write a round-up on modern destinations where travelers can still step inside this glamorous era. From the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, with its 600-foot porch where Edison unveiled the phonograph and Mark Twain wandered, to Newport’s Castle Hill Inn and Hotel Chanler where the Astors and Vanderbilts summered, to Mohonk Mountain House’s cliffside Victorian gazebos and Cumberland Island’s Greyfield Inn filled with Carnegie heirlooms, these properties offer an immersive form of old-money escapism. Since we bonded over The Gilded Age at Travel Classics, I wanted to send this your way.

Hed: Why Dallas Is the Perfect Girls’ Trip Right Now

Dallas is having a moment and it’s the ideal time for a girls’ trip. Netflix House Dallas opens on December 11, a full immersive venue with Squid Game and Stranger Things experiences, and the city is gearing up for FIFA World Cup 2026 matches. The fascination with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders hasn’t slowed down either, with the Netflix series renewed for season 3. But beyond the pop culture hooks, Dallas is one of the easiest cities in the country for affordable luxury: design-forward hotels, sleek cocktail bars, spas, and high tea spots that feel special without blowing anyone’s budget. And because Dallas has direct flights from so many places, it’s ideal for friends scattered across the country to meet up without anyone getting stuck on a long layover. I’d love to do an itinerary on what makes Dallas the ultimate girls’ trip right now.