Over the holidays and family visits, I branched out to a few new spots, curious if massive, suburban Orange County finally is entering the gourmet realm long ago the standard in areas far less populated. Multiple visits a year (since the days I lived here) and an exceptional meal is still quite rare. Though I finally found one intriguing cocktail… Read more →
“And one by one the nights between our separated cities are joined to the night that unites us.” – Pablo Neruda It’s been quite a week: I’ve been in Kentucky, tasting over 50 spirits a day, judging ADI’s (American Distilling Institute) annual awards. Palate fatigue, yes, but also an incredible team of judges and a confirmation that artisanal, craft spirits… Read more →
MAVEN, Lower Fillmore (598 Haight St. at Steiner, 415-829-7982) Enter through a corner door to a restaurant lined with high communal tables, upstairs seating area, and a redwood bar backed by a stone wall overflowing with plant life. Formerly RNM, Maven is a sleek, new cocktail haven in Lower Haight. I knew the cocktails would be good, but I was pleasantly… Read more →
GITANE, Financial District (6 Claude Lane between Bush & Sutter Streets, 415-788-6686) While I miss the sophisticated, out-of-the-box cocktails of former bar managers Carlo Splendorini and Alex Smith at Gitane (they both continue to craft excellent drinks, Splendorini at Michael Mina, Smith at Honor Bar), I am pleased to say Gitane, one of the sexiest spots in all of SF,… Read more →
After years of hunting, the day finally came when I could find proper cocktails in LA, even if it was years behind NY or SF. I’ve covered LA cocktail bars in recent years as the quality has rapidly grown, with my latest visit yielding the most consistent drinks yet.Their cocktail renaissance is coming into its own, even if a local… Read more →
“A person who likes to eat and drink can really pull the plug in San Francisco. It has everything from the world’s best hamburgers… to the world’s most esoteric and exotic foods… And, as San Francisco is a very small city, your choice for the evening is never more than minutes away.” – Russell Chatham, Dark Waters February rolls on…… Read more →
STATE BIRD PROVISIONS, Lower Fillmore/Japantown (1529 Fillmore St. between Geary & O’Farrell, 415-795-1273) Jazz is the soundtrack of the streets of Lower Fillmore. From its storied days as the “Harlem of the West”, to the current seat of Yoshi’s SF, Boom Boom Room, Sheba Piano Lounge, Rasselas, and other blues/jazz venues, the subtly gritty streets echo with its soulful past.… Read more →
ICE CREAM BAR & SODA FOUNTAIN, Cole Valley (815 Cole St. at Carl; 415-742-4932) I was born of another time. As much as I wouldn’t trade the rights and access of today, I hunger for the romance, artistry, and intellectual pace of eras gone by. As a child, I grew up on classic films and white-bread shows like Father Knows… Read more →
Did you know there is an orange called the Curacao? It’s a variety of orange extremely bitter to taste, with weathered skin. Drying them in the sun releases fragrant oils. Homely as the orange may be, its intense flavor was valued in making curacao in ages past. American palates aren’t exactly prone to bitter. We’ve been so weaned on sugar,… Read more →
Edible Adventures in the city of BORDEAUX Photos & article by Virginia Miller A week loaded with fatty duck, foie gras, canneles, and, of course, wine… such was my time in Bordeaux (see last issue on Bordeaux winemakers). Try tasting numerous wines from morning till night in weather just shy of 90 degrees. Though I was craving a good cocktail… Read more →