Author: Virginia Miller

Las Vegas Dining Guide: 15 Places to Eat Now from Upscale to Casual + Where to Stay

by  on  in Wandering Traveler

While many seek the bustle, party, slots and commercial lights of Vegas, I’ve never been such a person. The nearly-gone Rat Pack, old school, kitschy-glitz Vegas is much more my scene, growing up a jazz and old movie lover as a kid in the 1980s and 1990s. I don’t find much of that anymore (see Golden Steer below), even as I saw glimpses of it during my first visit to Vegas in the 1990s before the Flamingo and other great pieces of history changed their look dramatically.

Despite the exhaustion I feel even after one day of Vegas’ heat, crowds and partying, even since my 20s, there are gems worth seeking out. Here are 15 places to eat, from high to low, upscale to fast casual — and three hotels with different strengths. Read more →

Aromas of SF’s Presidio & Turkey meld in the Eastern Mediterranean magic of new Dalida

by  on  in The Latest

Turkish food is having a moment locally, thank goodness. And from some masterful chefs. Fresh off the heels of my review of new Turkish restaurant, Meyhouse in Palo Alto, chef duo Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz opened Dalida in San Francisco on June 30, 2023, in one of the Presidio’s striking brick buildings lining the Main Parade Lawn, within eyesight of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge, surrounded by forests. Read more →

Here’s where I love to eat in the Tenderloin

by  on  in Featured Neighborhood

The Tenderloin’s (TL) roughly 7-by-5 blocks get a massive amount of bad press as the center of San Francisco’s worst drugs and homelessness. As it has everywhere, pandemic has made conditions worse as Tenderloin’s decades-old issues have expanded a few blocks. But the TL remains a tiny part of our ever vibrant city with top-notch food, as in every SF neighborhood. Yet due to the TL’s location next to tourist central Union Square and hotels, it gets outsized attention compared to much larger difficult neighborhoods in other U.S. cities. Read more →

“Real Deal” Turkish Food at Palo Alto’s New Meyhouse

by  on  in Around the Bay

When I first dined at Meyhouse in Sunnyvale in 2019 not long after it opened, it was the best Turkish restaurant I’d been to in the West. So when I heard they were opening their second, more elegant Palo Alto location, I was “in,” despite the 45-ish minute drive there and back from San Francisco. As often happens, the opening was delayed, but Meyhouse finally debuted August 9, 2023, in a massive space with open air windows overlooking walkable downtown Palo Alto. Read more →

September 15, 2023

by  on  in Intro Letter

THIS ISSUE:
— Adriano Paganini’s Corzetti Comes to Downtown SF: A major San Francisco restaurateur and Italy native brings new Ligurian-Italian life to Union Square.
— Absinthe Turns 25: The craft cocktail pioneer and all-day, classic French restaurant retains old school French spirit with refreshed lightness in their new menu.
— London Cocktails: My Gin Magazine guide to 9 of London’s most interesting bars now.
— Distiller Bottle Column August: This issue I review brandy, tepache, agricole rhum, mezcal, gin, Scotch whisky, tequila, port, Japanese whiskies, RTDs, and more.
— Distiller Bottle Column July: This issue I review rượu dế Vietnamese spirit, rum, Japanese whisky, gin, Scotch whisky, tequila, cider, vodka, American whiskies, and more. Read more →

Absinthe turns 25, retaining old school French spirit with refreshed lightness

by  on  in Top Tastes

French food hasn’t exactly been trending nationally, but thank goodness for stalwarts like San Francisco’s Absinthe Brasserie & Bar, a craft cocktail pioneer way back in the late 1990s also faithfully serving upscale French bistro fare and beloved brunches. It still draws Hayes Valley crowds as it hits 25 years old this summer… an impressive feat for any restaurant. Though I’ve been dining here over 20 years, post-pandemic I’ve only been in for a couple weekday lunches and brunch (with absinthe cocktails, of course). It has been years since I returned for dinner. So it was time to go back to “Green Fairy” central on a recent mild Saturday night.  Read more →