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 →
Since Rich Table opened in July 2012, I knew it was “primed for greatness,” as I headlined my initial SF Bay Guardian review back in my Bay Guardian critic days. Rich Table (RT) went on to place on many best-of lists (including my own), earn a Michelin star for years (ridiculously — and I think errantly — dropped in 2021, hopefully rectified this year), James Beard nominations and a wonderful cookbook. This summer, they just turned 10 years old. Another huge feat in the restaurant world, especially when remains packed every night.
But what are they like 10 years in? Read more →
Ernest opened March 2021 in the lofty, two-tiered, industrial space that formerly housed Coffee Bar. One year into the pandemic — which means they were in planning mode well before — was one of the worst times to open a restaurant, especially an ambitious one. Next door to legendary Heath Ceramics, and in a neighborhood lined with nationally lauded restaurants and bars, Ernest entered seamlessly into that tier.
Now, a few visits later and over one year in, my review on Ernest today: 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 →
The Bold Italic’s top 12 new restaurant openings of the year + top new bars, best of 2020 (the “lost” year) and honorable mention new openings. Read more →
As with the past decade plus, here are my top 14 new Bay Area restaurant openings of 2019: Read more →
It’s been another stellar year of new restaurant openings — and we understand you haven’t had a chance to hit them all yet. Consider this your 2019 dining checklist of the best new kids on the block (last year’s top 12 here and top 12 new bars here):
In my latest Time Out column: in the nation’s baking capital, here are merely 10 of San Francisco’s best bakeries. Time Out bakery article here. Well beyond our famed San Francisco sourdough, the SF Bay Area has been a baking/bread leader for decades. Think legends like Acme Bread pioneering artisanal bread from Berkeley since 1983 or Tartine Bakery’s Liz Pruiett and… Read more →
Published on September 12, 2018, here and in the book accompanying venerable world restaurant awards’ Worlds 50 Best Talks event held in San Francisco that same day, is my article on the wide-ranging diversity and demographics of San Francisco and the Bay Area… and why this makes us one of the best, most exciting food regions in the world: www.theworlds50best.com/blog/News/diversetown-san-francisco-natural-destination-50besttalks-voices-for-change.html… Read more →
In my latest Time Out column, 10 of San Francisco’s most iconic dishes, foods and food categories that have been changing the food world for decades — and the most iconic places to eat them (article here): www.timeout.com/san-francisco/eat-like-a-local-san-francisco Read more →