Shotski’s Alpine Lodge Permanent Vacation cocktail. Photo by Virginia Miller. Six San Francisco cocktail bars or restaurants serving cocktails — and good vibes — that should be more well known than they are. But lucky for us, these are “just between you and me” (wink, wink). Olde Fashioned. Photo by Virginia Miller. What a Neighborhood Cocktail Bar Should Be: Olde… Read more →
Hisa Franko’s idyllic setting. Photo by Virginia Miller. Last fall at this exact time, attending the magical, unreal, intimate Ein Prosit food and drink festival in the small Friulian city of Udine, I had the privilege of a quick day trip about 45 minutes drive across the border from Northern Italy into Slovenia. I’ve long been a lover of Slovenian… Read more →
10 Top Bars in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia Read more →
Hamburguesa Bar. Photo by Virginia Miller. These 10 new(ish) restaurants — plus two bonus takeout/delivery spots — offer affordable, sometimes fun and delicious casual eats. These 12 cover the gamut: burger bar, Korean-Japanese katsu and udon, Yucatacen Mexican, hoagies, vegan Filipino, Chinese, Middle-Eastern, Indian and Tunisian-influenced wraps. Coffee shop tip: my favorite new neighborhood cafe is Yardsale Equipment Company in… Read more →
The Fin Hotel Oceanside. Photo by Virginia Miller. San Diego has perfect weather, palm trees, beaches, “navy city” status (as the principal homeport of the U.S. Pacific Fleet) and is the eighth-most populous city in the entire U.S. SD’s sprawling network of busy downtown, chill beach towns and citrus grove-lined inland cities is, as you might guess, most heavily caucasian… Read more →
Saam crudo. Photo by Virginia Miller. My first trip out of the country over 25 years ago was the two months I spent in Thailand, followed by a month in Vietnam. Barely out of my teens, it was an intense trip in orphanages and hospitals around the country, in tough conditions (mostly sans bed or bath), but with the privilege… Read more →
Vicinity’s Half Moon Bay course. Photo by Virginia Miller. For 25 years, I’ve been exploring and writing about the Bay Area’s Peninsula — including but not minimized to Silicon Valley. San Mateo County can exhibit suburban malaise and mediocrity when it comes to restaurant standards, especially compared to the dense, world-class glories of nearby San Francisco. But this is also… Read more →
From my MontRubi deck in Penedes, one of the best sunsets of my life. When I Fell in Love with Catalonia For food and restaurant lovers, Spain’s Catalonia (aka Catalan region) is first and foremost known for El Bulli, the birthplace of molecular gastronomy. The surprisingly humble cliffside restaurant is now a museum I visited, lined with experimental plateware, dish… Read more →
Published in the Summer 2026 print issue of Distiller Magazine: Read more →