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 →
Capo’s (Photo Courtesy of Capo’s) COME SEE OUR NEW HOME — The Bold Italic has a new home online, and this story has moved! Read it here: https://www.thebolditalic.com/10-year-old-capos-makes-deep-dish-to-top-chicago-s-best-kills-it-with-detroit-style-pizza-too Since 2009, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana has been the best all-around pizza restaurant in the U.S. I’d even say world, in terms of the place that perfects all major (and some minor) styles of… 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 supper club (Photo Credit: Virginia Miller) COME SEE OUR NEW HOME — The Bold Italic has a new home online, and this story has moved! Read it here: https://www.thebolditalic.com/lyon-swan-new-live-entertainment-supper-club-with-quality-food-drink I’ve long dreamed of 1930s-40s-era supperclubs returning. I know they won’t: who can afford a large restaurant/bar space with a dance floor, for starters, much less nightly musicians? Even… 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 →
Delfina’s truffle gnocchi (Photo Credit: Virginia Miller) COME SEE OUR NEW HOME — The Bold Italic has a new home online, and this story has moved! Read it here: https://www.thebolditalic.com/san-franciscos-delfina-reborn-as-it-was-meant-to-be 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… 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 →
Alongside cocktails at new restaurants, these seven bars are worth visiting now and into the new year…and some currently offer special holiday decor & drinks: Read more →
COME SEE OUR NEW HOME — The Bold Italic has a new home online, and this story has moved! Read it here: https://www.thebolditalic.com/mendocino-fort-bragg-magic-soulful-foodie-weekend-getaways FORT BRAGG: the Surreal Inn at Newport RanchThin places — where heaven and earth come closer or the veil between the here and the otherworld is especially thin — is beloved lore for thousands of years. On California’s breathtaking Mendocino Coast,… Read more →
Mourad Lahlou’s Mourad is the best upscale modern Moroccan restaurant I’ve been to in the U.S. Mourad’s visionary Cal-Moroccan cuisine, a more upscale sibling to his long-beloved, more casual Aziza, has been a trailblazer in that category since he opened it in San Francisco’s Richmond District in 2001.
Just after I wrote this review, California Michelin stars were announced earlier this week, and I am puzzled as to why Mourad would lose its Michelin star of multiple years, especially given the tighter-than-ever service, drink pairings and dishes I experienced there last week. When not one but three dishes leave a deep impression, that already is well above the average. I’ll explain. Read more →