If you’ve ever tried going on a weekend trip outside of the city during the summer, then you know it can be a major headache: it’s nearly impossible to avoid the Friday-through-Sunday traffic both into and out of the city. 

Luckily, if you’re looking to get to nature without the hassle, a great alternative is just about to make its yearly debut. Following a successful run the past couple of years, Amtrak is bringing back the beloved Berkshire Flyer, a seasonal train that takes New Yorkers straight to the Berkshires, Massachusetts’ most stunning natural region filled with hills, lakes and open fields.

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The Berkshire Flyer will depart from Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station every Friday starting June 21 through September 2 and return to New York City on Sundays. The trip takes about four hours in total, including stops at worthwhile destinations like Poughkeepsie and Hudson. 

On board, passengers will enjoy free WiFi. They will also be able to bring along two personal items and a couple of carry-on bags each.

The last stop on the train is Pittsfield, Massachusetts, located at the heart of the Berkshires. From there, you can drive to Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts at 3,489 feet above sea level, where you can chill out in a spa. Perhaps, simply stay put in Pittsfield to dive into the town’s cultural exploits and farm-to-table culinary scene. 

For the first time, the Berkshire Flyer will also include a train that will go from Manhattan to Pittsfield on Sunday mornings, in case you want to spend the entire week there.

Fair warning, though: throughout the past few years, passengers have had to deal with plenty of delays throughout the season.

Recently, though, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy secured $8 million to funnel into rail improvements, hoping to make the Berkshire Flyer smoother and more efficient, according to The Berkshire Eagle. 

More people than ever are expected to embark on the journey this summer, so make sure to get your tickets in advance on Amtrak’s website. 

* This article was originally published here

Manhattan’s Flatiron area has been the unofficial headquarters of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s ABC concepts, which include his seasonal dining room ABC Kitchen, his Latin-inspired restaurant ABC Cocina and his plant-forward spot ABCV. Now the prolific French chef and restaurateur is bringing all three across the bridge in a massive new 300-seat restaurant, JGV’s first foray into Brooklyn. 

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Hot off the news that the famous toque will be repurposing that old 18,000 square-foot Spice Market space in the Meatpacking District and turning it into a swanky, members-only club dubbed Chez Margaux, Vongerichten will be bringing his ABC restaurant trilogy to Dumbo, at 55 Water Street to be exact, which, if you’re a Time Out New York regular, you know to also be the building complex where you can find our very own Time Out Market New York. 

Per Eater, Lois Freedman, head of Jean-Georges management, confirmed that the new restaurant is still in the design phase and construction on the project will start this season. The still-to-come eatery will reportedly be run in a similar vein as the chef’s most recent London entry, which opened last month at the Emory Hotel in Knightsbridge: that restaurant, called ABC Kitchens, incorporates “delicious elements” of all three existing ABC concepts, ABCV, ABC Cocina and the O.G. ABC Kitchen.

That London menu currently boasts dishes like tacos stuffed with Dover sole and apple slaw, three-cheese pizza dotted with wild garlic and asparagus, and a celeriac katsu with grainy mustard aioli and something called a “spice condiment,” so it will be interesting to see if the New York newcomer mirrors that wide-ranging selection. 

The Dumbo location will be Vongerichten’s first Brooklyn restaurant—he has thirteen in Manhattan, including his fine-dining flagship Jean-Georges as well as Nougatine, Perry Street, The Mark, The Fulton and the Tin Building food hall, among others. The celebrity chef also recently debuted Four Twenty Five, a luxe new Park Avenue dining room, this past December. 

* This article was originally published here