Category: Intro Letter

“What harbor can receive you more securely than a great library?” – Italo Calvino, If On A Winter’s Night a Traveler Just back from a vivid, taste-filled weekend at Pebble Beach Food & Wine (more on that next issue), I anticipate a sunny spring week ahead. Top Tastes – The Hunt for Authentic Bay Area BBQ: It’s tough finding BBQ… Read more →

“Two very young people, the sort who’ll stay very young until they suddenly find themselves old.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tales of the Jazz Age (“The Lees of Happiness”) The rains of March have given way to a sunny, pristine April Fool’s Day as I send out recent explorations and findings. Around the Bay – Magical Restaurant 1833: It’s worth… Read more →

““Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts.” – Charles Dickens, Great Expectations March rains have hit… we didn’t get much rain this winter so it’s time. Time to contemplate and cozy up with a book, a dram, and a cherished companion. In this… Read more →

“And one by one the nights between our separated cities are joined to the night that unites us.” – Pablo Neruda It’s been quite a week: I’ve been in Kentucky, tasting over 50 spirits a day, judging ADI’s (American Distilling Institute) annual awards. Palate fatigue, yes, but also an incredible team of judges and a confirmation that artisanal, craft spirits… Read more →

“A person who likes to eat and drink can really pull the plug in San Francisco. It has everything from the world’s best hamburgers… to the world’s most esoteric and exotic foods… And, as San Francisco is a very small city, your choice for the evening is never more than minutes away.” – Russell Chatham, Dark Waters February rolls on…… Read more →

 “You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by… but some of them are golden only because we let them slip.” – J.M. Barrie It’s February… a month that will take me to Kentucky, Denver, and Monterey. Meanwhile, I am grateful to be right here at home in San Francisco, savoring its endless treasures. In Around the… Read more →

“… in a time lacking in truth and certainty and filled with anguish and despair, no woman [or man] should be shame-faced in attempting to give back to the world, through her work, a portion of its lost heart.” – Louise Bogan As you receive this, I’m returning from the snowy regions of Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario, Canada, exploring icewine during… Read more →

“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” – Zora Neale Hurston Happy new year! I trust your holidays were sweet, restorative, and full of good food and memories with those you love. Mine were so, spent in Southern and Central California, now back home and ready for a new year. Top Tastes meditates on comforting winter dishes… Read more →

“Many a man is building for himself in imagination a bungalow when he should be building a palace… Very few people bring to life what is rightfully theirs. They live on the outskirts of their heart’s desire. It always seems too good to be true. To the person spiritually awake nothing is too good to be true.” – Florence Scovel… Read more →

“An inordinate passion for pleasure is the secret of remaining young.” – Oscar Wilde Here’s hoping you had a lovely Thanksgiving, as we rush swiftly on into December. I recently wrote about my philosophy behind my SF Guardian column, now also in print weekly. It’s good being back from my travels for a while to settle into this and savor… Read more →