Magical settings, moments and drinks were many in the 4th annual SF Cocktail Week which set the bar high for all future Cocktail Weeks… consider attending next year as its far from being just for drink aficionados. It’s for those who love a memorable party done in true San Francisco style. I have watched it grow from intimate nights out… Read more →
Dinner & Cocktails with a View at Luce and Top of the Mark Wednesday through Saturday nights there’s a ready-made date if you want romance without having to think too hard. At $80 a person, it’s a package deal between Luce Restaurant (which I’ve written about more than once) in the Intercontinental Hotel and Top of the Mark. Choose the… Read more →
SF CHEFS, a week-long celebration of all things food and drink in SF, ushered in it’s second year last week, August 10-15. It was as full, fun and delectable as the first year. From industry seminars like the intriguing Tales from the Still, which kicked off the week, to the Grand Tasting tent in Union Square, there was never a… Read more →
In 100% humidity at 100 degrees (with no relief at night), spending a week drinking and eating doesn’t sound like the best idea, but for eight years running, it happens every July in New Orleans at Tales of the Cocktail. For cocktail lovers and industry, this is THE drink event of the year (yes, I was at the Manhattan Cocktail… Read more →
It was a privilege to attend the Mad Men-themed Spirited Awards Dinner on July 24 as a guest of The Bitter Truth gentleman from Germany, Stephan Berg and Alexander Hauck. Happily, they won for Best New Product with their incomparable celery bitters. San Francisco represented well with the Rickhouse crew nominated in three major categories, including Best American Cocktail Bar… Read more →
Winemaker dinners… intimate affairs where a winemaker comes to town, and shares a multi-course dinner with you as their wines are paired with each course. Not a bad way to spend the night. Especially with these two winemakers and their wines: ARGENTO Winemaker Dinner at One Market New Zealander, Nick Goldschmidt, is one of those rock stars of winemaking. This… Read more →
**Photos thanks to Susannah Chen of YumSugar (www.yumsugar.com)** Ghirardelli Square minus the tourists. A warm early Summer evening. VIP hour overlooking the Bay on a patio replete with fireplace, lounge chairs, champagne, Petrossian white sturgeon caviar on chips with creme fraiche and onion relish. Chefs, mixologists, sommeliers, industry folk, food and drink writers milling about. Not too crowded, well laid… Read more →
It is a joy when our city’s food/drink greats team up to form something unique. Such was Zare at Fly Trap’s three nights of Persian Pub Grub, running June 3-5, as envisioned by Zare’s chef/owner, Hoss Zare, and Monk’s Kettle’s Sayre Piotrkowski and Ryan Corbett. The exuberant, hospitable Hoss created a menu lovingly melding traditional elements of his home country… Read more →
I was one of the lucky ones, spending eight days in NY, my old stomping grounds, for the first annual Manhattan Cocktail Classic, May 14-18, highlighting and celebrating the art of the cocktail and its greatest talents. Or so I thought… I won’t gripe too much, though I will say that despite the stunning transformation of the already gorgeous New… Read more →
So this one of those special media events it could get annoying to hear about if you couldn’t attend yourself, except that it was at three places I highly recommend in a rare Absinthe-themed crawl on May 4, 2010. Pernod Absinthe, the original absinthe since 1805, hosted an intimate group of writers for an Absinthe Crawl at three worthy locations:… Read more →