As I am the W50 Academy Chairperson for W. North America, I was back in London July 2022 for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards, hosted by the one and only Stanley Tucci. In addition to all the special events and meals surrounding W50B awards, I did the usual: packed in a number of restaurants and bars for research. I’ll outline top bars in another publication this year, but here, the 7 restaurant standouts this return to London. Read more →
It’s that time of year again: I sift through the hundreds of new local restaurants I’ve visited this year (plus a few hundred more national and international restaurants), namely those opened December 2021 through November 2022, sorting through what standouts most… and why.
I also list 10 top new bars of the year and 10 honorable mention restaurants: Read more →
My December bottle column covers trends and reviews international spirits and RTDs. This month includes:
— Boulard Grand Solage V.S.O.P. Pays d’Auge Calvados
— Carta de Amor Mezcal (Oaxaca, Mexico)
— Honkaku Spirits’ Shochu (Japan)
— Nikka Yoichi & Miyagikyo Aromatic Yeast 2022 Discovery Series Whiskies (Japan)
— ARC Archipelago Botanical Gin & Barrel Reserve Gin (Phillippines)
— Lili Non-Alcoholic Sparklers (Portola Valley, California)
… and more Read more →
THIS ISSUE:
— December Eats Checklist: 7 standout restaurants & newcomers of the month.
— New Orleans Guide: 18 places to dine now.
— San Francisco’s Delfina: Reborn & as it was meant to be.
— 10-Year-Old Capo’s Makes Deep Dish To Top Chicago’s Best: And kills It with Detroit-style pizza, too.
— Lyon & Swan: New live entertainment supper club with quality food & drink.
— 15 Wines to Celebrate the Holidays: Vino to suit every palate. Read more →
I’ve called Tony Gemignani’s pizzas best anywhere since Tony’s Pizza Napoletana debuted in 2009, alongside Capo’s, which he opened November 2012, just now passing it’s 10th anniversary. Both are in North Beach a few blocks from each other, with Capo’s the Chicago pizza-focused joint, adding on Detroit-style pizzas when they reopened Summer 2020 after a pandemic shut down. Why Capo’s is still the best in Chicago and Detroit-style pizza… Read more →
These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from Sebastopol (Sonoma County) treasures in Thai and pizza to SF gems in Creole/Cajun, Japanese and elevated bar food. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews of these exceptional spots, these seven are also worth visiting, with last month’s standouts here (as always, I’ve vetted, visited or ordered from each place reviewed): Read more →
Lyon & Swan is a unique North Beach supper club. Hidden downstairs from the new Sonoma-based Eco Terreno Urban Tasting Room on Columbus Avenue, there’s a small wine production facility and aging tank upstairs and wine tasting room and bites on the main floor. L&S is much smaller than the grand supperclubs of the 1940s, but its intimacy is more like sleek jazz bars of the 1950s-60s, albeit way roomier than cramped legends like the NYC’s Village Vanguard. They offer live entertainment, heavy on musicians but also including drag queens, cabaret singers and comedians. Read more →
In 2022 I went to Nola twice a week at a time, to judge in Nola Spirits Competition and Tales of the Cocktail in the blistering, muggy heat of July, and back for a rousing Halloween week.
When it comes to restaurants — and bars (stay tuned for my updated Nola cocktail bar guide in 2023) — there are plenty of new places to love and pandemic survivors that are better than ever. Some restaurants are uneven, but each place here has standout dishes or elements. Journey with me through 18 New Orleans spots that have opened or greatly evolved since pandemic and what stands out (or doesn’t) at each: Read more →
What a difference nearly 25 years makes! Closed since March 2020, Mission District longtimer Delfina just reopened October 26, 2022, completely remodeled, refreshed, and, I’d say, reborn. I know I’ve dubbed some restaurants as “better than ever before,” and in Delfina’s case, it’s truly true. Read more →
From sparkling celebratory wines and Champagnes to crisp wintery whites, bracing reds to non-alcoholic wines, I’ve got 15 bottles to suit a range of palates, meals or occasions as we dive into the holidays and usher in a new year. Read more →