ROSE PISTOLA, North Beach – Lovely bar manager Aurora Siegel maintains a fine cocktail menu at Rose Pistola that could be easy to miss in North Beach’s tourist bustle. Finely-wrought takes on classics like Rose’s Manhattan ($10 – Bulleit Bourbon, sweet vermouth, bitters, Amarena cherry juice, essence of orange) mingle with bright refreshers like The Q ($11 – Hendrick’s Gin,… Read more →
“In New Orleans, gluttony is a way of life.” – Morton J. Horwitz I’m getting those Basin Street Blues again. I’ve done articles on the Uptown, Carollton and Garden District, more Uptown & Bywater, on French Quarter food and drink, and the Fauborg Marigny and Treme neighborhoods. Now I cover the more commercial, high-rise-littered CBD, where some of Nola’s best… Read more →
LEFT COAST LIBATIONS – Ted Munat with Michael Lazar Left Coast Libations, which came out September 1st (catch the launch party this Saturday, 9/18, at Heaven’s Dog), is, as far as I’m concerned, a must for the library of any West Coast cocktailian, not to mention drink aficionados everywhere. Ted Munat clearly displays a fan’s love of drink and the… Read more →
Daniel Patterson is one of our city’s true visionary chefs, willing to push the envelope, gifted with technique, but, yes, able to make it taste damn good. I’m a big fan of Coi, delight in Il Cane Rosso and try not to resent Oakland for getting both Bracina and Plum, his upcoming ventures. Thankfully, Plum sneak preview dinners were held… Read more →
There may be other Bay Area concert winery venues (Mountain Winery, for example), but none like family-owned Wente Vineyards in Livermore. Run by the same family for five generations and set on a 3000 acre expanse of golden rolling hills and vineyards, Wente is managed by delightfully down-to-earth family members who keep the business alive, yes, with wine-making, but also… Read more →
“It is not the brains that matter most, but that which guides them – the character, the heart, generous qualities, progressive ideas.” – Fyodor Dostoevsky I’m proud of the innovation and spirit in the Bay Area. As I visit old and new favorite distilleries like St. George and Old World Spirits, sample a preview dinner of Daniel Patterson’s upcoming Plum,… 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. UPSCALE BENU, SoMa Let’s get this out of the way now: yes, Benu is a noteworthy… Read more →
COCKTAILS SPOONBAR, Healdsburg – I wrote last issue about Spoonbar in Sonoma County. It’s up to you get out there… and fast… for some of the best cocktails in all of the Bay Area (no surprise) from Mr. Scott Beattie. Ask for the full cocktail menu beyond the one you get when first seated. It’s a glory of new creations,… Read more →
COMMIS, Oakland Commis is Oakland’s shining star of culinary excellence and experimentation since James Syhabout put it on the map with multiple awards as Best New Chef in Food & Wine magazine, among countless other accolades since it opened in Summer 2009. There isn’t much new I could add to the din, other than to share dinner highlights on my… Read more →
It’s New Orleans’ time… again. I’ve written on the Uptown, Carollton and Garden District, CBD, on French Quarter food, more Quarter eats and drink and the Fauborg Marigny and Treme neighborhoods. Here’s more from my July visit to Nola in the Uptown/Garden District and Bywater, plus coffee and breakfast stops. Uptown/Garden District HANSEN’S SNO BLIZ – In early 2009, I… Read more →