My latest article below on a treasure of a restaurant/bar/jazz club that employs the youth of Hunter’s Point. As a special community resource that goes well beyond a restaurant, this is the kind of place we want to keep alive during pandemic:
Month: March 2020
A Guide to the Bay Area’s Local Grocers
In my latest article for The Bold Italic, I cover over 20 of San Francisco and the Bay Area’s best local grocers/markets, international markets, shops doing drink/bottle delivery and CSAs/CFAs delivering produce from farms and local, sustainable seafood to your door.
DISTILLER Bottle Column: March 2020
Published March 19, 2020, at Distiller Magazine, my bottle column covers trends and reviews international spirits here, with taste ratings.
March 23, 2020
—The State of the Bar World is Dire: As donations and aid changes daily, info is quickly out of date, but hearing from some of our best bar owners and managers early this week, the precarious state of our beloved bar world is real… and global.
— Bay Area, It’s Time to Get Takeout/Delivery: 10 of our best in every food category from Burmese to bagels.
— The Best Tacos in San Francisco That Aren’t La Taqueria: Updated with current takeout/delivery options.
— Chasing the Funk: R(h)um lovers, drink Haitian Clairin.
The State of Our Bar Community is Dire
Published March 22, 2020, at Distiller Magazine, I wrote this piece the week prior and much has shifted each day, including the welcome regulatory relief for the state of California from the ABC last Thursday (these are law changes that should be permanent, “relieving” archaic, impractical Prohibition-esque holdovers). More on all that later. My friend Eric Grenier of Jack Daniels is compiling… Read more →
Bay Area, It’s Time to Get Takeout
My latest article for The Bold Italic, published March 19, 2020, on numerous greats offering takeout, curbside/window pickup and delivery around the Bay Area now with my recommends on top dishes and standouts to order.
The Best Tacos in San Francisco That Aren’t La Taqueria
My latest article for The Bold Italic, was published March 12, 2020, and written before the coronavirus nightmare: https://thebolditalic.com/the-best-tacos-in-san-francisco-that-arent-la-taqueria-bd29f5b36540. So as our cherished hole-in-the-walls and deep ethnic communities — including our long-vibrant Mexican community — are hit hardest, I post this article with a heavy heart and below share links to each in my article doing delivery/take-out now so you… Read more →
Chasing the Funk: R(h)um Lovers Latest Rum Favorite is Haitian Clairin
Published at NYC’s new Barcademy in February 2020, my article on r(h)um funk or hogo, namely Haitian clairin, including interview quotes from Calvin Babcock of Saint Benevolence in Haiti. My article here. “Funk” is a descriptor rum lovers are well acquainted with. The 18th-century term for funky rums is haut goût or hogo. Rum geeks often talk hogo or dunder, referring… Read more →
March 1, 2020
— Best New Bay Area Restaurants & Old-School Greats of the Month: My Bob Cut column explores cuisine rarities from Guam, Eastern Europe, other standout newcomers and classic “best kept secrets.”
— 12 of the World’s Most Inspiring Bars: My latest print feature at the UK’s Cocktail Lovers magazine.
— 1760 Reborn: Changing themed tasting menus traverse the world on Polk Street (currently Tuscan; next up, Filipino).
— Jeremy Allen of MiniBar: Why this unassuming Hollywood bar (hidden inside a Best Western!) draws in music industry with its retro-yet-modern vibe and beautifully-crafted cocktails.
10 Notable SF Openings of the Month & 4 OG Greats: February 2020
My top four new restaurants of the month with longtimers of the same style or cuisine, then move on to six “honorable” mention new openings of the month:
— Dear Inga (OG: Mama Papa Lithuania in Alameda)
— Prubechu (OG: Yami Grill, Mountain View, & Elite Bakery, Union City)
— Bread N’ Chu (OG: Cafe Okawari)
— Yasmin (OG: Truly Mediterranean) Read more →