“If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating as possibility!” ― Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or: A Fragment of Life
Unforgettable dining in Japan (see Best Of 2014)
Happy new year to each of you! Here’s trusting and hoping for a year rich with discovery and depth. As we look ahead, I also look back on the best meals, drinks and openings of the year in lists of over 60 places, including best meals and cocktails in the Bay Area, the US, the world — and the top 10 new restaurants and 10 cocktail bars of 2014.
This issue:
Squab at The Progress, new from State Bird Provisions’ owners (see Top Tastes)
The Best of 2014, Restaurants – The best new Bay Area openings and the best meals around the US and the world.
The Best of 2014, Drink – The best new Bay Area bar openings and the best cocktails & bars around the US and the world.
Top Tastes – My Food Articles, December 16-31: 17 of my current Zagat articles on the year-in-review, 6 new restaurants, under-the-radar spots and Wine Country newcomers.
Imbiber – My Drink Articles, December 16-31: 9 of my current Zagat articles on multiple new cocktail menus at restaurants, a new bottle shop & the year’s top new bars.
Imbiber – 3 Spirits for December: Vermouth from Washington, rum from Monterey and Scotch from, of course, Scotland.
As your personal concierge who tells it like a good friend would, I also create personalized itineraries: trips, meals, explorations (under “Services“).
Virginia
Editor, Distiller Magazine
SF Bay Guardian Critic (Weekly Column: 2009-2013)
Spoonwiz
Freelance: The Times London, Eater, PureWow, Drink Me Magazine, Citysearch, NBC’s The Feast, Blackboard Eats, Tasting Table, Grubstreet, Where Magazine
**Unless otherwise noted, all photos by Virginia Miller**