Author: Virginia Miller

April 15, 2017

by Virginia Miller on April 15, 2017 in Intro Letter

This issue:

— Top 3 New Restaurants of the Month: Maybe the most exciting and ambitious Chinese restaurant/bar/market concept… ever. A cocktail bar with killer food. Affordable Cuban food.
— Why Oxford, Mississippi, Is a Food & Literature Lovers’ Town
— Top 5 Whiskies from Whiskies of the World 2017: Another year of hundreds of whiskies from around the globe on a sternwheeler in the Bay, with standouts from India to Scotland, US to Japan.
— Hotel of the Month: Four Seasons Silicon Valley looks like a corporate office building, but here’s why it’s special, from a new cafe and remodel to impeccable pastas and s’mores by the pool.

Top SF Openings — March 2017

by Virginia Miller on April 15, 2017 in The Latest

March (finally) brought the ambitious, long-anticipated China Live to Chinatown (which I wrote about numerous times from Food Republic to Zagat). The month also delivered another major beer restaurant: Hitachino Beer & Wagyu (in its soft opening mode so will be in consideration for top openings of April as it officially “opens”), and cocktail-centric restaurant, The Douglas Room. Other notable March… Read more →

Why Oxford, Mississippi, is a Food & Literature Lover’s Small Town

by Virginia Miller on April 15, 2017 in Wandering Traveler

With its idyllic town square and romantic, Southern architecture and small town welcome, Oxford, Mississippi, is a worthy road trip stop for food and literature lovers like myself. Offerings are few but vibrant, even if for those of us who care little about sports the town is too dominated by the University of Mississippi and Ole Miss Rebels games. Despite… Read more →

Top 5 Whiskies at Whiskies of the World 2017

by Virginia Miller on April 15, 2017 in Imbiber

Another Whiskies of the World (WoW) on Hornblower’s San Francisco Belle, docked in the Bay on March 31 (last year and years prior here) — and another stunning Spring night smoking cigars on the rooftop deck and swaying to the Bay’s waves while sipping hundreds of whiskies. Although it is one of the big whisk(e)y events in the country (also… Read more →

Hotel of the Month: Four Seasons Silicon Valley

by Virginia Miller on April 15, 2017 in Around the Bay

Being a Four Seasons hotel, it’s already obvious why one might recommend Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley for that exceptional service and the luxury details common at Four Seasons properties around the globe. But why this particular property? Four Seasons Silicon Valley is one of those hotels I have long been curious about, passing its nine-story, glass exterior countless times… Read more →

April 1, 2017

by Virginia Miller on April 6, 2017 in Intro Letter

This issue:

— Top 11 National Cocktails of the Month: From Napa to Charleston, here are my top 11 cocktails around the country now.
— How the Gin & Tonic Launched Lisbon’s Cocktail Movement
— Taipei’s East End Bar Is at the Forefront of Taiwan’s Fledgling Bar Boom

11 April Cocktails Around the US Now

by Virginia Miller on April 6, 2017 in Imbiber

Covering the 11 hottest cocktails of the month around the US at Liquor.com, you’ll find my bar and drink recommends this month at these bars (click on each for the featured cocktail): Dirty Habit, San Francisco The Gin Joint, Charleston Archipelago, Washington D.C. Rusted Mule, San Francisco The Drake, Oklahoma City Two Birds/One Stone, St. Helena (Napa) Saint Leo, Oxford,… Read more →

How the Gin & Tonic Launched Lisbon’s Cocktail Movement

by Virginia Miller on April 2, 2017 in Imbiber

My January 12 Liquor.com feature article on Lisbon’s burgeoning cocktail scene and deep dive at Red Frog Speakeasy, including an interview with bar manager Paulo Gomes here. https://www.liquor.com/articles/red-frog-speakeasy-lisbon/#gs.jEADmZk Read more →

Taipei’s East End Bar Is at the Forefront of Taiwan’s Fledgling Bar Boom

by Virginia Miller on April 1, 2017 in Imbiber

My December 29, 2017, Liquor.com feature article on Taipei’s burgeoning cocktail scene and a deep dive into the bar East End, including an interview with bar manager Nick Wu here. Read more →

March 15, 2017

by Virginia Miller on March 15, 2017 in Intro Letter

This issue:

— Top SF Openings of the Month: From bars to restaurants, here are the top three standouts from all of February’s new openings.