In the Netherlands with BOLS GENEVER Photos & Article by Virginia Miller Getting lost amid the canals and museums of Amsterdam is mesmerizing. This May, I took a memorable journey to the Netherlands with legendary Bols Genever, genever (pronounced “jeh-NAY-ver”) being the precursor to gin (read my Amsterdam food/dining recommends and best cocktail havens and dive bars here). Confusion still… Read more →
In BRUGES Photos & Article by Virginia Miller The romance of Bruges cannot be overstated. I was delightfully surprised to arrive in the small, intimate city of narrow cobblestone roads and horse drawn carriages to be one of the more romantic cities I’ve visited (and I’ve been to 25 cities around the globe just this year alone): partly due to… Read more →
“If I dismiss the ordinary – waiting for the special, the extreme, the extraordinary to happen – I may just miss my life… To allow ourselves to spend afternoons watching dancers rehearse, or sit on a stone wall and watch the sunset, or spend the whole weekend rereading Chekhov stories—to know that we are doing what we’re supposed to be… Read more →
Dining in AMSTERDAM Photos & Article by Virginia Miller Getting lost amid the canals and museums of Amsterdam is mesmerizing. While the hash house, hippie-spirited, eclectic streets near the train station make for fascinating people watching (forgive the rant: I won’t even get into the Red Light District, being a passionate advocate against human trafficking, as the ever-growing sex trade… Read more →
Whenever I visited the intimate, humble Pesce on Polk Street over the past decade plus, I was consistently impressed with the impeccable seafood and Venetian focus. It evoked an escape to Venice, Italy (minus the unmatchable, magical setting), for its blessed ritual of snacking: cicchétti, or hot and cold bites preferably taken with drink. Having just returned to Venice for… Read more →
From a beer-laced float, to a South Asian punch, here are four of San Francisco’s best cocktails now: TOSCA’s “HOUSE CAPPUCCINO” I was afraid. Very afraid. Though iconic Tosca Cafe was my beloved haven for San Francisco history and Italian singers on the jukebox, its takeover from NY crew and Chef April Bloomfield had me more than a little concerned… Read more →
May these photos be a reminder of why these two restaurants are among San Francisco’s best, an impetus to return and try what are among the best dishes their chefs have created since opening. The best things improve with age. COMMONWEALTH, Mission (2224 Mission St., between 18th & 19th, 415-355-1500) Commonwealth, one of my overall top San Francisco restaurants out… Read more →
My Fall/Winter 2013 Distiller Magazine interview with four national craft distillers — and Ann Tuennerman, founder and executive director of Tales of the Cocktail, on how to navigate Tales of the Cocktail, the biggest and most intense cocktail event in the world. Article here. Save Read more →
Getting lost amid the canals and museums of Amsterdam is mesmerizing. As with many cities of the world, Amsterdam is experiencing a food revival with new restaurants, markets and bars cropping up everywhere (read my food/dining recommends here). In terms of “craft” cocktails or the cocktail renaissance of the past decade plus, one does not find even close to the… Read more →
“You may have the universe, But let Italy remain mine.” – from Attila, music by Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Temistocle Solera It’s been an unreal few weeks – from Italy, Austria, Switzerland, to a whirlwind trip to Galicia, Spain, I return to family visiting for the holidays, cooking a Southern-Asian-inspired Thanksgiving feast with many of the recipes from Smoke &… Read more →