“One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began though the voices around kept shouting their bad advice.” – Mary Oliver, “The Journey” Welcome May’s warm days and invigorating breezes. I’m appreciating favorites, like rhubarb and kumquats, starting to show up at farmers markets and on menus, and also chatting with neighbors on the front stoop while sipping… Read more →
Author: Virginia Miller
(Uniquely) Communal Dining
Incredible burgers in a bowling alley, SF’s deaf community gathering over Neopolitan pizzas, brothers serving food from their hometown of Nice in a tiny restaurant, dining around a U-shaped counter off a FiDi alley… each of these restaurants opened within the last 6 months providing a unique communal experience (and most importantly, fine food to go with) that makes one… Read more →
Spring Cocktail Trends: Pimm’s Cups, Bottled & Wine Cocktails
Spring imparts new life and lush green after Winter rains. It also ushers in a glut of Spring cocktail menus emphasizing the best produce of the season and new trends. Bottled Cocktail Line-up Bottled cocktails are sprouting up everywhere, including just-opened (on April 12), 1950’s era speakeasy, Local Edition, from the Bourbon & Branch crew. There is no carbonation here,… Read more →
Exploring Edinburgh
Edinburgh is a haunted, romantic city of greys and browns, greens and the blue of the sea. I had not been back to Edinburgh and Glasgow in a decade so my trip this past fall was welcome on the heels of a visit to the breathtaking Scottish Highlands and Speyside. Returning to Edinburgh, it was obvious dining and cocktail scenes… Read more →
New Asian & Peruvian Spots in the South & East Bays
In the spirit of my new SF cheap eats article last issue (and recent Guardian column), here are two noteworthy new cheap eats joints East and South: Berkeley and Palo Alto. ASIAN BOX, Palo Alto (855 El Camino Real, 650-391-9305) Asian Box is a newer take-out shop (with one narrow communal table inside and a couple tables outside) in a… Read more →
Pebble Beach Food & Wine Highlights – April 2012
My first Pebble Beach Food & Wine this April 12-15, 2012. Despite chilly breezes post-rainfall and those outrageously high ticket prices ($500 is a cheap dinner ticket), it was a bustling, fun-filled weekend of food and far more wine, much of it high quality, celebrity chefs, after (and after-after) parties, copious amounts of caviar, champagne and white Burgundy sipped overlooking… Read more →
April 15, 2012
“What harbor can receive you more securely than a great library?” – Italo Calvino, If On A Winter’s Night a Traveler Just back from a vivid, taste-filled weekend at Pebble Beach Food & Wine (more on that next issue), I anticipate a sunny spring week ahead. Top Tastes – The Hunt for Authentic Bay Area BBQ: It’s tough finding BBQ… Read more →
Hunting for Authentic BBQ in the Bay Area
Here is my print/full version of this article which ran in the Bay Guardian on April 17, 2012. Growing up in East, West and Middle America, I unexpectedly have a profound affinity to the music and food of the South. Traveling numerous Southern states, my love accelerates. Florida conch and stone crab please, as do Tex Mex and Texas brisket.… Read more →
1950’s-Style Bar in former Newspaper Printing Room in the Historic Hearst Building
LOCAL EDITION, Downtown (691 Market St. at 3rd, 415-795-1375) Bourbon & Branch, Wilson & Wilson, Rickhouse… I’ve frequented (and written about) each since they opened. Though some tire of the speakeasy concept, Bourbon & Branch led that trend, remaining one of the more transporting places to drink anywhere. I value Future Bars (Destination Bars) emphasis on setting and will always… Read more →
The Latest: Gourmet Cheap Eats, from Piroshkis to Pizza
GOURMET CHEAP EATS: From Piroshkis to Pizza Photos & article by Virginia Miller Trekking around the Bay for what is not at all elusive – excellent food – is ever a pleasure. Finding it on the cheap? Options are endless. Sandwiches stand as one of the easiest ways to fill up for less, making the continued glut of sandwich openings… Read more →