Though I drove briefly through Germany’s stunning Berchtesgaden region in the Bavarian Alps recently during a second and third return to Austria and Switzerland, when I spent 8 days this May in Berlin, I actually hadn’t been back to Germany since 1999. At that time, when I was backpacking around Europe for 3 months, Berlin was all cranes and construction… Read more →
As in so many of the world’s best cities these days, coffee has risen to an art form, whether influenced by the hot, flat white-driven coffee scene in Australia, or the decades-long history of superlative coffee on the US’ West Coast (Oregon, Washinton and California), whether pulling from Italian coffee drink perfection or Japanese equipment precision (Hario, siphon, etc.) Berlin… Read more →
I wrote this article for Zagat, originally published September 4, 2015. The article and all photos are by Virginia Miller. For many, Big Sur is a spiritual place: that sparsely populated coastline of Central California cradled by the Santa Lucia Mountains, with redwoods and dramatic cliffs lining the Pacific. Being as remote (and stunning) as it is, restaurants are few,… Read more →
This Issue:
– Top 10 Dishes of the Month: From SF to Oakland, I’m getting excited about veal sweetbread tacos, a katsu-drowned fried chicken torta and miso peach sticky buns, to name a few.
– The Top 10 Spirits Releases of the Summer: There are new whiskies, rums, agricole, vermouths, gin and even cinnamon liqueur to please a range of palates.
– High-Tech, Cash-Less, Healthy, Cheap Fast Food? Enter eatsa.
August was quite a month for notable new openings from Oakland to SF, including restaurants like The Keystone in the Mosser Hotel (my Zagat feature on the opening here). I also visited months-old spots, like the solid-though-not-overwhelming Buttermilk Southern Kitchen, or savored old school torta comfort (a steal with massive tortas) at Tortas Boos Voni. On the cheap eats front,… Read more →
Almost daily, I’m tasting a wide range of spirits, wines and beers, whether at restaurants and bars, distilleries, wineries or breweries or as samples crossing my desk. Over the past few months, there have been many new spirits releases, including these spring and winter releases since the year began. I’ve been having fun experimenting with cocktails with recently released Cent-Anni… Read more →
My Summer 2015 feature for Distiller Magazine on Los Angeles, with an 11-page print spread, my photos and article: ______________________________________Past issues (top 10 bars, local distiller and bar manager interviews in each city): Save Read more →
High-tech meets fast food with healthy ingredients… and it’s cheap? Enter eatsa, the first location (watch for LA to open in September) of a new fast food restaurant opening today, August 31st, near San Francisco’s Embarcadero in the Rincon Center. Co-founders Scott Drummond and Tim Young are corralling technology to keep prices down (they expect the food to be even lower-priced in… Read more →
This issue:
– Top 7 Cocktails of the Month: From agave and mezcal delights to mushroom-infused sippers, the 7 most interesting cocktails now.
– The Latest: Denver Edition – Talking new restaurants, food halls, cocktails and coffee in Denver.
From mid-July to mid-August, here are the standout cocktails and new menus I’ve been tasting around the Bay Area. 1. Calavera’s Princesa de la Maracuya Just opened in Oakland on August 7th (more on the opening in my Zagat feature), Calavera exudes big city-cool in its lofty dining room, bar and open air porch, serving sophisticated Mexican food and a… Read more →