THIS ISSUE:
— March Eats Checklist: 5 Standouts of the Month, from heartwarming Jamaican food to another worthy Italian seafood haven in North Beach
— SF’s New Copra: Coastal India vibes & relaxed, modern Indian cuisine from a chef who ran the U.S.’ only 2 Michelin Indian restaurant.
— Top Cocktail Bars in Seoul, South Korea: My Whisky Magazine bar guide.
— Anomaly SF: Hidden whimsical-molecular restaurant (formerly a beloved pop-up) opens on a sleepy residential block. Read more →
These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from heartwarming Jamaican food to another worthy Italian seafood haven in North Beach. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews, these five are also worth visiting. Read more →
For a decade I’ve been raving about chef Srijith “Sri” Gopinathan’s cooking, even before he became the only Indian chef in the U.S. with a two Michelin-starred restaurant for Indian fine dining at Taj Campton Place, San Francisco. I dined there after he started in 2008, when he started showing his range in his Spice Route menu, as he garnered a Michelin star, and again as he moved to two stars.
Thrilled I was to hear of Thapar and Gopinathan back in SF, taking over the former Dosa on Fillmore to open Copra Restaurant, focused on the coastal cuisines of India’s southern states, including chef Sri’s home state of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where he grew up. Read more →
The speakeasy trend peaked in the mid-aughts in New York and San Francisco cocktails bars where it first launched in the years prior, just as it was taking off around the country. But the clamor for “secret,” hidden spaces in restaurants and bars has not abated. There remains a thrill in finding a gem behind nondescript doors, a hidden room, a cozy hideaway.
Brand new Anomaly SF, opening January 19, 2023, from chef/owner (and former competitive cyclist) Mike Lanham, feels like just such a space. Read more →
THIS ISSUE:
— New Chef with Stockholm & London Roots: Reborn Michelin-starred Sons & Daughters.
— Palm Springs Guide: 18 places to eat, drink & stay now.
— 30 Years at One Market & New Fine Dining Chef at Luce: Two longtimers with new life.
— DISTILLER Bottle Column: This month I review sour cherry aperitif, rum, gin, Scotch, tequila, Indian whisky, non-alcoholic wine, American single malt and RTDs (ready-to-drink/canned) cocktails.
— Top Cocktail Bars in Seoul, South Korea: My Whisky Magazine bar guide. Read more →
Exploring 10 of the best spots for drams and drinks in the capital of South Korea… Read more →
Since first visiting Michelin-starred, intimate fine dining gem Sons and Daughters (S&D) when it opened in 2010, I named it one of the top 10 new restaurants of the year. Visiting the tasting menu-only restaurant from owner and lauded chef Teague Moriarty a few times over the decade, my experiences were always rewarding in this cozy Nob Hill spot a short walk from Union Square. But I hadn’t been back in a good five years.
January 2023 ushers in a whole new era for S&D as Moriarty announced new executive chef Harrison Cheney, who came on board October 2022. For the first time, Moriarty has stepped away from the kitchen completely, though remaining at the helm of the restaurant. I was immediately excited when I heard Cheney came from years at my favorite restaurant in Sweden, two Michelin-starred Gastrologik in Stockholm, as well as The Ledbury and The Square in London and San Francisco’s three Michelin Quince. Read more →
Palm Springs midcentury glory is a major draw for a lifelong retro girl like me. At home, I’ve long decorated midcentury in my San Francisco 1890’s Victorians, just as I’ve dressed with 1940s-50’s influence since I was a teen, collected vintage barware and books and have been literally weaned on the films and music of that era and beyond.
Here is my Palm Springs guide with two hotel recommendations, two coffee shops, seven mid-range and seven fast casual spots, outlining highs — and when relevant, lows. Read more →
Published in the Winter 2022-2023 print issue of Maze Row’s VOICES Magazine out of London, Vol. 2:
My interview with Lazy Bear’s (San Francisco) beverage director Jacob Brown finds inspiration in the endless wealth of California produce & vineyards: Read more →
There are longtimers, then there are longtimers. This week I talk about two. One is a 15-year-old fine dining restaurant at the InterContinental SF hotel with a new Greek chef who has cooked at some of the world’s most celebrated restaurants from London to Lima. The other is a local SF legend in the upscale mid-range zone celebrating its 30th anniversary… no small feat in any era for a restaurant. My reasons to revisit both:
—New Chef Who Cooked at Central & The Fat Duck: LUCE
—Eating Through the Decades at ONE MARKET Read more →