October 2021 brought me back to Belgium — both Antwerp and Brussels — for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, a special but difficult time in pandemic (excessive government tracking and tests, much of Antwerp still closed). But I came away with highlights worth visiting. Here is my latest “best-of” in food and drink Read more →
In Rum Magazine, I cover Hawaii’s r(rh)um agricole renaissance. First, at KoHana on the island of Oahu, pioneering and reviving Hawaii’s rich and diverse sugarcane, solely showcasing Hawaiian sugarcane in each of their r(h)ums. Then Kuleana Rum Works on Hawai’i’s Big Island, growing and producing their own agricole, as well as blending a line of global r(h)ums to showcase rum’s range with Hawaiian agricole.
My first print feature in Rum Magazine where I cover 8 U.S. rum bars spreading the rum gospel across the States. Some are tiki bars, some are not, but all know their r(h)ums.
My guide to some of best of the Big Island in food, drink and hotels (my Honolulu dining and hotel guide here; Honolulu bar guide here; Honolulu coffee, bites and bakeries here): Read more →
This issue of Gin Magazine, my Bar Guide to 10 top bars in Hawaii’s biggest city, Honolulu, on the island of Oahu.
From modern Hawaiian to traditional Japanese, here are 10 of Honolulu’s best restaurants now: Read more →
On the food front, Hawaii is about Hawaiian food, a unique mashup of cultures — namely Japanese, Chinese, Korean,Filipino, Puerto Rican and Portuguese. Like Cajun or Creole cuisines in New Orleans, Hawaiian food is one of the U.S.’ greatest culinary gifts: a truly unique cuisine that exceeds the sum of its parts in its own, laid back, “aloha spirit” way.
Here in part one, I share some of Honolulu’s best coffee, bites, bakeries and bars that also serve great food: Read more →
This issue I talk the science of cocktail mixing and low-key, behind-the-scenes molecular techniques with Missouri cocktail pioneer, Ted Kilgore of Planter’s House and Small Change in St. Louis.
My fall 2021 return to Los Angeles, the region I partly grew up in and spent over 12 years of my youth and, later, young adulthood living in was a busy one. I visited over 35 places, from cafes and coffee roasters, to restaurants and eateries — like pre-pandemic times. While the bar scene was clearly struggling on the service end even more than restaurants were, restaurants were coming back to life.
Here’s the good, the bad and the damn delicious: Read more →
This issue I cover three bartenders and global bars, featuring their cocktail recipes inspired by more unsung classic gin cocktails…
+ My opinion column on the state of gin and cocktail bars in the U.S. now: How Will We Drink in 2022?