Two standout new spirits of the year thus far? Here are two unusual US-made spirits that immediately drew me back for a second taste. Bete from Sidetrack Distillery ($32.95/375 ml)In my three trips to Seattle in seven months, a spirit that keeps impressing me with every sip is the uncategorizable Bete from Sidetrack Distillery in Kent, WA. The spirit is… Read more →
Avuá Cachaça (pronounced ahv-wah kah-SHAH-sah) is spreading the cachaça gospel. Founders Nate Whitehouse, Pete Nevenglosky, and Mark Christou are key voices raising awareness of the complexities and range of Brazil’s beloved sugarcane spirit, best known as the base for the Caipirinha cocktail. Though it surged in popularity a few years back with major brands, the category never quite took deep root… Read more →
San Francisco Bartender Bret Sylvester has done the somewhat impossible: created a line of fruit-infused brandies to please the spirits and non-spirits drinker alike. I recently tested out his sparkling line on visiting family and friends. My wine drinking and even some generally teetotaling family members all loved Drink Verbena, while I and other spirits drinkers found the line complex… Read more →
ALCHEMY BOTTLE SHOP, Oakland (3256 Grand Avenue, temporary number: 415-553-0803) Oakland will soon have a spirits shop to delight spirits and cocktail lovers. Alchemy Bottle Shop, from Tova Herman, formerly in the wine industry, and Peter Mustacich, who quit his Financial District day job (where he frequently spent breaks at Cask) to open their Grand Avenue spirits shop, is going… Read more →
Back for Tales of the Cocktail in my beloved city of New Orleans, my last visit yielded these standout drinks at some new and some not-so-new spots (the latest on food and dining in Nola here). KINGFISH, French Quarter Wherever bartender Chris McMillian tends, I would go. As the consummate, lifelong bartender who showed me back in a 2008 visit… Read more →
“There’s no time like now, there’s no time like this time.” – Sam Phillips song, No Time Like Now on Push Any Button Amazing how swiftly January has already kicked into gear. This constant 70’s weather in SF is providing daily joys of sun, brilliant sunsets, beach walks, and welcome clarity. Alongside fellow food writers, I recap the year in… Read more →
TRICK DOG, 3010 20th Street at Florida, 415-471-2999 The Bon Vivants’ (Josh Harris, Scott Baird, Jason Henton) Trick Dog has been the hottest bar opening in San Francisco of 2013, and one of the big openings of the year anywhere in the cocktail world. Though it certainly made my “best of” list of 2013, the constant stream of crowds make it… Read more →
FOREIGN CINEMA, Mission (2534 Mission St. between 21st & 22nd Streets, 415-648-7600) Foreign Cinema will always hold a special place in my heart. Not only was it one of the hottest restaurants in town back in 2001 when I moved to San Francisco (as a lifelong film buff, I also love the theme and movies playing on the wall), but… Read more →
Back in my beloved New York, home of my teenage years. Until just a few years ago, it was the place I’d come home to for the holidays when my parents still lived in New Jersey. Despite only a couple lovely days out of a ten-day visit in late May through early June (the rest were either pouring rain or… Read more →
Another year, another few hundred bar menus tasted and perused around the globe. This year was the most full yet: I visited over 25 cities in 10 different countries. Which means weeding through best tastes is even more complicated. Given the vast range, I have three 2013 lists (more for best in food/dining here): 12 Best New Bars in San… Read more →