From one of the key cities that birthed cocktails to the world in the 1800s, San Francisco has no end of hundreds of stellar bars with stellar food. We welcome a new one from a beloved industry bartender and standout new menus at two bars we already love, all three with quality food, too. Read more →
Category: Top Tastes
May Eats Checklist: 6 Food Standouts of the Month, from Greek to Banh Mi
These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from elevated Greek food to Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews, these six are also worth visiting, with last month’s standouts here. As always, I’ve personally vetted, visited or ordered from each place reviewed: Read more →
8 SF & Oakland Spots Winning with Cocktails AND Food
These new spots or new menus cover the gamut, from Filipino-Mexican to Peruvian. Alongside my full restaurant reviews this month, these eight (and a bonus 9th bar) are well worth visiting. Last month’s standouts are here (as always, I’ve personally vetted, visited or ordered from each place reviewed): Read more →
Worth Crossing the Bridge For: Daytrip Evolves Into One of Oakland’s Best
Opened October 2021 by Finn Stern and Stella Dennig, as Oakland’s Daytrip approaches one and a half years of age, it has become clear it’s one of the city’s best restaurants now. It was named one of Bon Appetit’s top 10 new restaurants in America in 2022 and is one of the tougher reservations in OAK. Read more →
March Eats Checklist: 5 Standouts of the Month
These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from heartwarming Jamaican food to another worthy Italian seafood haven in North Beach. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews, these five are also worth visiting. Read more →
New Chef with Stockholm & London Roots at Reborn, Michelin-Starred Sons & Daughters
Since first visiting Michelin-starred, intimate fine dining gem Sons and Daughters (S&D) when it opened in 2010, I named it one of the top 10 new restaurants of the year. Visiting the tasting menu-only restaurant from owner and lauded chef Teague Moriarty a few times over the decade, my experiences were always rewarding in this cozy Nob Hill spot a short walk from Union Square. But I hadn’t been back in a good five years.
January 2023 ushers in a whole new era for S&D as Moriarty announced new executive chef Harrison Cheney, who came on board October 2022. For the first time, Moriarty has stepped away from the kitchen completely, though remaining at the helm of the restaurant. I was immediately excited when I heard Cheney came from years at my favorite restaurant in Sweden, two Michelin-starred Gastrologik in Stockholm, as well as The Ledbury and The Square in London and San Francisco’s three Michelin Quince. Read more →
30 Years at One Market & New Fine Dining Chef at Luce: Two Longtimers with New Life
There are longtimers, then there are longtimers. This week I talk about two. One is a 15-year-old fine dining restaurant at the InterContinental SF hotel with a new Greek chef who has cooked at some of the world’s most celebrated restaurants from London to Lima. The other is a local SF legend in the upscale mid-range zone celebrating its 30th anniversary… no small feat in any era for a restaurant. My reasons to revisit both:
—New Chef Who Cooked at Central & The Fat Duck: LUCE
—Eating Through the Decades at ONE MARKET Read more →
February Eats Checklist: 5 Standouts of the Month
These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from elevated German beer hall fare to Sichuan Chinese. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews, these six are also worth visiting, with last month’s standouts here (as always, I’ve personally vetted, visited or ordered from each place reviewed): Read more →
Red Sauce Italian Legend South of SF: Original Joe’s Westlake
I’ve been dining at Joe’s sister, Original Joe’s Westlake, under prior owners for the last two decades. Bruno Scatena opened Joe’s of Westlake in 1956, which was eventually run by his daughter, Melinda Scatena, who worked there since she was 14 years old, selling it as she ran into health problems. My husband, Dan “The Renaissance Man,” and I adored it in those years and it was perpetually packed as if it were the hottest new restaurant. Read more →
January Eats Checklist: 4 Standouts of the Month
These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from a nature-rich tribute to California’s majestic trees in edible form, to healthy, chic, nuanced at-home delivery food. Read more →