Chef Loretta Keller is a San Francisco treasure since she opened Bizou in 1993, which became the long-beloved COCO500 in 2005… I’ve dined at all her ventures multiple times over the last 21 years, so delighted I was to see her return… to open Uccello Lounge on the ground floor of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s (SFCM) new Bowes Center. Read more →
THIS ISSUE:
— Michelin-Starred SF Great: State Bird Provisions, 10 years in.
— June Eat & Drink Checklist: These five newcomers (or new menus) cover the gamut, from Korean hot pot to Roman-style pizza.
— Brand New For the Record & Members Only Reviewed: Two female bartenders with a perspective you can taste in the glass.
— Honolulu Guide 2022, Part 2: 10 Top Restaurants Now + Where to Stay.
— 12 Summer Wines & Somm-Curated Wine Clubs.
These five newcomers (or new menus) cover the gamut, from Korean hot pot to Roman-style pizza. Here is what is standing out at each, alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews. And for the kids (and kid in you), hit up brand new Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience Store, tributing Ghirardelli’s 170th anniversary with much more seating options (read: no lines for locals) and chocolate-making viewing, in-house sundaes, ice cream and chocolate drinks (as always, I’ve vetted, visited or ordered from each place reviewed): Read more →
A few elements must align to come into one’s own voice and it’s never a one-time deal but an ongoing evolution. Maturity, experience and time are the oft-discounted but key factors to holistic integration for those pursuing it. However, other crucial pieces include timing and the right platform/s from which to express one’s voice…
Normally, this Friday review is devoted to restaurants: and both these new bars serve food, so we’ll get into that. But this week, it’s more about drink menus on par with great food and about two women coming into their voice on their current menus: Read more →
This issue of Gin Magazine, my Bar Guide to 10 top bars in Hawaii’s biggest city, Honolulu, on the island of Oahu.
From sparkling summer crushers (whether easy drinking refreshing or funky, interesting natural wines) to thoughtful, sommelier-curated wine clubs for the savvy wine drinker, I’ve got 12 bottles to suit a range of palates, meals or occasions, including standout non-alcoholic wines. Read more →
When Michelin-starred State Bird Provisions opened in December 2012, I reviewed it at the SF Bay Guardian, saying, “Jazz is the soundtrack of the streets of Lower Fillmore. From its storied days as the ‘Harlem of the West,’ to the current seat of… blues/jazz venues, the subtly gritty streets echo with its soulful past. I would venture to say Fillmore newcomer State Bird Provisions is an ideal jazz companion. There’s no musical connection. But the spirit of jazz is present in their playful, dim sum-style presentation… and in the way… Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, evolve the menu almost daily… Plates flow out on carts or trays like an experimental jazz riff, but never feel rootless.”
10 years (and a few months) later, jazz fanatic that I am, still feeling those improvisational chops, even as the team has evolved. Review here: Read more →
From modern Hawaiian to traditional Japanese, here are 10 of Honolulu’s best restaurants now: Read more →
THIS ISSUE:
— One of the Best Restaurants to Come Out of 2020: A pandemic gem from Michelin and James Beard-level chef and pastry masters.
— From Michelin-Starred Ju-Ni Sushi: Their new Handroll Project is raising the handroll sushi game.
— Honolulu Guide 2022, Part 1: Standout coffee, bites, bakeries and bars with good food in Hawaii’s biggest city.
— Distiller Magazine Bottle Column, May 2022: I review rum, sotol, sloe gin, aperitifs/aperitivo, gin, vodka, American single malt whiskey, RTDs (canned/bottled cocktails).
On the food front, Hawaii is about Hawaiian food, a unique mashup of cultures — namely Japanese, Chinese, Korean,Filipino, Puerto Rican and Portuguese. Like Cajun or Creole cuisines in New Orleans, Hawaiian food is one of the U.S.’ greatest culinary gifts: a truly unique cuisine that exceeds the sum of its parts in its own, laid back, “aloha spirit” way.
Here in part one, I share some of Honolulu’s best coffee, bites, bakeries and bars that also serve great food: Read more →