February 1, 2015

by  on  in Intro Letter

This issue:
– Top Tastes – My Top 7 Dishes & New Openings for January: My 2 most notable new restaurant openings of January; out of dozens of dishes, the 7 best dishes of the month.
– Wandering Traveler – The Best of OC: My girlhood stomping grounds of Orange County have generally been a suburban, culinary wasteland but there are more signs of life with each passing year: a few in food, cocktails & coffee.
– Imbiber – Top Spirits, Wine & Beer in January: 3 wine standouts, a spirits standout and a mead (honey wine).

Read more →

Best of Orange County 2014

by  on  in Wandering Traveler

Restaurants TACO MARIA, Costa Mesa Taco Maria is the kind of humble-yet-modern, “food first” kind of restaurant that made me fall in love with San Francisco when I moved there nearly 14 years ago — and I couldn’t find much of real quality in my old Orange County stomping grounds over the years. But times are finally changing in at… Read more →

Top Spirits, Wine & Beer in January

by  on  in Imbiber

Most days, 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. For January, here are 3 wine standouts, a spirits highlight and a notable mead. WINES of the MONTH – 2013 Azienda Agricola COS Frappato from Sicily: On Shelly Lindgren‘s impeccable Italian wine list… Read more →

10 Top Louisville Bars + Interviews with Steve Beam at Limestone Branch & Jeremy Johnson & Hannah Kandle at Meta

by  on  in Wandering Traveler

My Winter 2014-2015 feature for Distiller Magazine on Louisville, KY, with a 11-page print spread, my photos and three articles: All three articles here. More of my Kentucky food and drink recommends here. ______________________________________ Past issues (top 10 bars, local distiller and bar manager interviews in each city): Save Read more →

January 15, 2015

by  on  in Intro Letter

This issue:

  • Top Tastes – My Food Articles, January 1-15: 12 of my current Zagat articles on the year in dining & drink, including new restaurants, under-the-radar spots and Wine Country travel.
  • Wandering Traveler – Los Angeles: The best in restaurants, cheap eats and coffee from latest travels in LA.
  • Imbiber – Tequila Time: Talking anjeo (aged) tequila with 1 new anejo and 2 new extra anejo releases.

Read more →

5 New SF Openings, Weekends in Napa, Pasta Menu in Oakland, Healthy Eating Spots for the New Year & More

by  on  in Top Tastes

From my many articles a week as Zagat Editor, I summarize and link to some coverage highlights here – you can follow along on Twitter @ZagatSF, where I post daily, or on my own @ThePerfectSpot via Twitter or Facebook. New SF Openings Californios & Chef Val Cantu’s Creative, Mexican-Influenced Tasting Menus Hot Dish: Chris Cosentino’s “Ham” Burger at the new… Read more →

Tequila Time with 3 New Anejos

by  on  in Imbiber

Recently, I received no less than three new Añejo or Extra Añejos imports from Mexico. “Añejo” means aged in Spanish and this tequila category is essentially the clear spirit one starts with as a blanco tequila, but aged a minimum of one year (and less than three years) in oak barrels. Extra Añejo is a newer category that means the tequila… Read more →

January 1, 2015

by  on  in Intro Letter

– The Best of 2014, Restaurants – The best new Bay Area openings and the best meals around the US and the world.
– The Best of 2014, Drink – The best new Bay Area bar openings and the best cocktails & bars around the US and the world.
– Top Tastes – My Food Articles, December 16-31: 17 of my current Zagat articles on the year-in-review, 6 new restaurants, under-the-radar spots and Wine Country newcomers.
– Imbiber – My Drink Articles, December 16-31: 9 of my current Zagat articles on multiple new cocktail menus at restaurants, a new bottle shop & the year’s top new bars.
– Imbiber – 3 Spirits for December: Vermouth from Washington, rum from Monterey and Scotch from, of course, Scotland.

Read more →