Easily the best new opening in Oakland in 2010, Daniel Patterson’s long-anticipated Plum delivers his impeccable technique in heartwarming food. After a handful of visits both for dinner and lunch (and a preview dinner back in September), I come away with a sense of being enveloped, not by the communal seating or uncomfortable bar stools, but by the warmth of… Read more →
Fortaleza is truly a special tequila. On my recent visit to Tequila, Mexico, this distillery enchanted with its agave covered hillsides and haunting caves. Fortaleza means fortitude, though in Mexico, you’ll find their bottles labeled Los Abuelos in memory of the grandfathers of Guillermo E. Sauza, the fifth generation producer who passionately runs Fortaleza by old world methods. He comes… Read more →
My last jaunt to LA yielded a few spots I thought you should know about: OLD PLACE, Agoura Hills – Take to the winding roads of Agoura Hills where happening upon Old Place feels like a mirage in the wild West. The smell of BBQ lures you in, while a rustic wood porch makes you want to pull out a… Read more →
Chotto delivers a needed izakaya-style restaurant to the Marina. Based on merely one visit in its initial opening weeks (and therefore limited), I find a welcoming space. The staff care and are informed about Japanese food. In a brief chat with the chef, he talks with gusto of traveling through Japan researching menu ideas. While no particular dish was an… Read more →
“I have learned to speak of these things, which once I brooded on in silence, these wishes to live and to die in gratefulness, if in no other virtue.” – Galway Kinnell, “These Are Things I Tell No One” As I reflect on this incredible, full year, I anticipate a fresh one with untold experiences awaiting. Here’s my first… Read more →
Top Tastes, rather than a list of all-time favorites (another thing altogether), are among the best eats since my last newsletter, often from new openings. Many don’t make the cut, being a revisit previously written about or simply not as stand-out as dishes mentioned. MID-RANGE RESTAURANTS BEAST & the HARE, Mission – At 22nd and Guerrero, a corner I’ve always… Read more →
On the cocktail tip, here are a few recent stand-outs: The Alembic, Upper Haight – Leave it to Louie (Danny, that is) for another beauty: Vasco da Gama is one of his creations last year. A smoky-spiced concoction, it’s lush with Buffalo Trace bourbon, smoky with Caol Ila 12yr scotch (they were out last week so he used Bowmore 15yr… Read more →
NY’s BROMBER BROTHERS deliver their comforting welcome at the Stanford Court Renaissance Two of the nicest chefs you’ll ever meet, Bruce and Eric Bromberg (brothers), spread the warmth of their NY Blue Ribbon Restaurants globally. I have happy memories of late nights at the original Blue Ribbon Sushi on Sullivan Street long before Blue Ribbon grew to multiple restaurants around… Read more →
“I’ll admit that I’d rather say country ham than almost anything if the person I was saying it to happened to be a waitress.” – Calvin Trillin Winter and the holidays are fast upon us. As I reflect on this incredible, full year, I anticipate a fresh one with new experiences awaiting. I have begun writing “best of” lists for… Read more →
Top Tastes, rather than a list of all-time favorites (another thing altogether), are among the best eats since my last newsletter, often from new openings. Many don’t make the cut, being a revisit previously written about or simply not as stand-out as dishes mentioned. MID-RANGE RESTAURANTS GRUB, Mission – The new Grub surprised me. I expected a hip Mission eatery… Read more →