What We’re Reading: Free Stuff at the Airport, New York’s Hidden Museums, More

Our countless hours spent reading about travel on the Web are good for something after all. We came across some entertaining, informative, and, in one case, delicious, bits of travel writing this week. Dig in to these pieces about obscure New York museums and free stuff at the airport, and one very tasty-looking international recipe.

Maklouba for the Traveler’s Soul

One should never browse Legal Nomads, a blog about food and travel, while hungry. The drool could damage your computer. If I wasn’t hungry before stumbling upon this tempting Jordanian recipe, I soon became so. Feast your eyes on maklouba, the Middle East’s answer to upside-down cake. It’s rice, meat, and roasted veggies prettily plated and laced with a kaleidoscope of spices: turmeric, cumin, cinnamon. If you can’t swing a trip to Jordan anytime soon, here’s your chance to cook up a little piece of the destination in your kitchen.

The Exhibit Less Traveled

You could probably tick off a list of New York City’s most celebrated museums—the Met, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim. But, not surprisingly, America’s largest city has much more to offer the museum-going set. This roundup of hidden-gem museums in Wells Fargo Conversations will have you oohing and aahing at less-traveled exhibitions like preserved 19th-century apartments in the Tenement Museum or giant intestines in the Childen’s Museum of Manhattan.

Nothing in Life is Free … Except for This

When stuck in the throes of a flight delay, a busy airport can feel like a soul-sucking abyss. But a freebie or two will make even the most hellish experience A-OK. Frommers’ list of 10 favorite free things at the airport will show you where to find free iPads (no, you can’t take them home), books, video games, and other heavenly diversions in your next gateway.

Fast Friends

Did you mother ever tell you not to talk to strangers? What if you could follow mom’s advice and get to know your bus seatmate, cruise-ship tablemate or fellow tour buddies before you hit the road? Our sister site IndependentTraveler.com proposed a few websites that allow you to hand-pick the people you might encounter on your travels and “get to know them” over the Web before you’re, say, stuck side by side on a nine-hour bus ride. This leads us to wonder: Can one really weed out the weirdos with an Internet profile and a few emails? Anyone who’s tried online dating might be wary of this approach. What do you think?