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 →
When Roma native Gianluca Legrottaglie opened Montesacro in SoMa in 2015, it was the first proper Roman pinseria in the nation, complete with pinsaiolis (akin to a pizzaiolo) from Rome. Not familiar with pinsa? It’s an ancient Roman-style pizza, oval-shaped, happily crispy and airy simultaneously and made from a more easily digestible fermented soy, rice and wheat flour blend. Montesacro’s thoughtfully-made recipe remains the best I’ve had anywhere.
… in June 2022, San Francisco gained their second Montesacro in the Marina. Read more →
Reviewed this issue:
— Tattersall Coconut Aquavit
— Fast Penny Spirits Amaricano Amari
— Kopke 50 Year White & Tawny Port
— Tanteo Tequila Navidad
— Humboldt Distillery Organic Apple Brandy
— Glenmorangie: A Tale of the Forest
— The Better Man Distilling Co.’s Apple-Forward Gin
… and more Read more →
THIS ISSUE:
— November Eats Checklist: 7 standout restaurants & newcomers of the month.
— Seoul Guide: Where to dine & stay in Korea’s capital city.
— Malaysian Buzz in Sleepy Outer Noe: The new Damansara.
— Rosemary & Pine: Playful neighborhood comfort from Michelin-starred team.
— Distiller Magazine Honolulu: Interview with Pint+Jigger and Harry’s Hardware Emporium bar manager Dave Newman. Read more →
These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from Greek mezé to dim sum. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews, 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 →
In deep dives tasting my way around Singapore, to my love for dear departed places like Indonesian great Warung Siska (chef Siska Silitonga, please come back!), I am crazy about the unique cuisines of this island-heavy corner of Southeast Asia. This includes Malaysia, which deeply informs much of Singaporean cuisine as its very close neighbor and sister. Together, they’re known for incredible dishes like kaya toast or laksa soup (although there are styles of laksa in Indonesia and southern Thailand as well). So I was certainly delighted when I heard chef Tracy Goh found an outer Noe Valley brick-and-mortar space for her Malaysian pop-up, Damansara, opened October 19, 2022. Read more →
In addition to the great Born & Bred and Byeokje Galbi, which I write about in my upcoming article on the not widely understood world of Korean barbecue, here are eight standout Seoul restaurants, fine dining to casual, and two recommended hotels (stay tuned for my Seoul cocktail bar guide in 2023): Read more →
Rosemary and Pine’s agnolotti pasta (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/rosemary-pine-playful-neighborhood-comfort-from-michelin-starred-team Debuting October 13, 2022, Rosemary and Pine (R&P) opened in the former Skool space on a sleepy block of San Francisco’s Design District, nestled between SoMa, Mission Bay and… Read more →
In the Fall 2022 print issue (Vol. 18. Issue 2) of Distiller Magazine:
— My article on 10 of Honolulu’s best bars
— My interview with David Weglarz of StilL 630 Read more →