Browsing through the many suggestions offered by Japan Travel Info, I could not help but notice Osaka Affordable Gourmet. The piece happens to bring together Consumed to Thrifty and Tokyo Thursdays two of the threads that I weave on Serge the Concierge. I pledge ignorance on the subject of Okonomiyaki which is described either as a pizza or a pancake. Described by Japan Travel Blog as a kind of "Japanese pancake containing diced meat and...

The Holiday shopping season usually gets in full gear in the US on Black Friday. Lauren McKay (Destination CRM, November 13) suggests It's Going To Be a Disaster , a gloomy assessment for 2008 and raises one issue that I had not thought about. What happens if the retailer you purchased Gift Cards from goes bankrupt in the early months of 2009? In some instances they might be worthless. She mentions Bankruptcies may sap gift...