Category: Best Of

The 12 Top New Bay Area Bars of 2017

In my latest Time Out column, here are my top 12 new bar openings of 2017… and the first places you should grab a drink in 2018 (article here): www.timeout.com/san-francisco/news/12-san-francisco-bay-area-bars-you-need-to-visit-in-2018-011218 1. True Laurel2. Cold Drinks3. The Douglas Room4.  Rusted Mule5. Gibson6.  Charmaine’s and Villon at Proper Hotel7. Junior8. White Cap9. The Kon-Tiki, Oakland10. The Riddler11. The Snug12. Periodic Table, Emeryville Read more →

Top 12 New Bay Area Restaurants of 2016

This article was first published here at Table8 where I am national editor. 2016 held steady with many notable new Bay Area restaurants. We lost some greats and said hello to many newcomers, with the heaviest category dose being hardcore Japanese restaurants, whether Tokyo-style edomae sushi temples or pristine kaiseki, fine dining restaurants. A number of the top new openings… Read more →

The Best of 2015 in Restaurants, Bars, Hotels & Travel

My editorial best of the year picks were published at Food Republic over December 2015 and January 2016 in a series of articles covering the best in US and international travels, hotels, meals and drink — here is a link to each article I contributed to and my favorites summarized below: –  Best Drinking Experiences, International–  Best Drinking Experiences, West… Read more →

Best Restaurants of 2014: In SF, the US & the World

Another year, another 600+ restaurants (YES, this is my annual average). Though I didn’t repeat the marathon travel of 2013 (over 25 cities in 10 different countries!), this year was still packed, taking me from Japan and Hong Kong, back to “regulars” like NYC and New Orleans. 2014 was rife with revelatory flavors, regional dish discoveries, memorable newcomers and wonderfully… Read more →

Best Bars of 2014

Another year, another few hundred menus tasted and perused around the globe. Though my 2014 wasn’t quite the travel schedule 2013 was (25 cities and 10 countries!) with my job as Zagat SF/Bay Area Editor, it was still a nonstop year that took me from places like Tokyo to New Orleans, NYC to Hong Kong. Here are my 2014 best… Read more →