“Not so long ago, it took much more to thrill me: the exhilaration of a new relationship, a promotion, one of those spa trips, a binge at Saks. Now it’s just the advance guard of tomorrow – a little taste – and knowing that today was mine all mine.” – Margaret Roach, And I Shall Have Some Peace There Just… Read more →
Phan’s New Orleans’ Duo – and One of the US’ Great American Whiskey Bars
Chef powerhouse Charles Phan’s New Orleans-influenced Southern food and bourbon bar duo opened mid-March with similar menus focused on New Orleans-style bar snacks and menus run by the ever-talented Erik Adkins, who oversees cocktail bars at every Phan restaurant. Both are already destination bars in terms of quality and setting and Hard Water is fast becoming one of the great… Read more →
Asian Newcomers: From Food Truck to Pop-Up
The Bay Area already boasts some of the best Asian food in the US, in a diverse range of categories. Though I can’t recreate the settings from the months I spent traveling Southeast Asia, I can find some of those flavors… and many more from places I long to visit… authentic and complex here in the Bay Area. What follows… Read more →
Around the Bay: Weekending in Healdsburg & Santa Rosa
Dozens of weekends in Sonoma over the years and each is a pleasure, a respite from incessant work, as I breathe in vine-soaked air, taking in new and old restaurants and wineries. Recent weekends in Healdsburg and Santa Rosa have offered many joys. There have been but a few disappointments, like the bland Asian “fusion” of Chinois in Windsor and… Read more →
The Charming KY Town of Frankfort + Breakfast-ing in Louisville
Back again in Bourbon Country, catching up on new restaurants and bars since my visit one year before. While visiting eight distilleries from Bardstown to Lexington, I particularly enjoyed a lunch in the historic town of Frankfort (home to Buffalo Trace Distillery) and fueled up on breakfast and coffee in Louisville before long days of spirits judging/tasting. RICK’S WHITE LIGHT… Read more →
April 1, 2013
“Cultures with richer vocabularies are more fully human… individual men and women are more fully human when their memories are stocked with verses.” – Richard Rorty In the midst of the wildest back-to-back press trip schedule yet (Denver, Breckenridge, Peru, Oaxaca, Mexico City, Brussels, Amsterdam), I catch up on many recent food and drink highlights around SF, return to Chicago… Read more →
Two of the Bay’s Best Burgers Under $10
Burgers come in degrees: layered with expensive accoutrements, whole egg, foie gras, and the like… or simple, without pretense. I crave a burger in all degrees, whether upscale, knife and fork versions, or down and dirty. On the cheap, two burgers incite salivation in memory alone. One is at a brand new SoMa dive that also serves winning tacos, the… Read more →
Quaffable Dessert, Fennel Intensity, Squid Ink & Spicy Rum, Grilled Cheese & Spiced Cocktails
Cocktails and food: each of these four locations – one brand new, three established – boast noteworthy cocktails – and most are excellent restaurants. Here’s what’s making an impression in recent weeks… ALCHEMIST, SoMa/South Beach (679 3rd St. between Brannan & Townsend; 415-746-9968) Opened by Kinson Lau (Gitane) and Phil Chen, Alchemist, upstairs in a wood-floored, roomy space, recalls LA… Read more →
Winter Dining in Chicago
My second return to Chicago in 6 months (and 4th trip overall) was a freezing journey, warmed by fantastic friends and family, food and drink. Here are more Chicago standouts and newcomers from late February. OWEN & ENGINE, Logan Square Perhaps my favorite find this visit is Owen and Engine, a gastropub-esque restaurant/bar marked by Old World British elegance (black… Read more →
Winter Drinking in Chicago
My second return to Chicago in 6 months (and 4th trip overall) was a freezing journey, warmed by fantastic friends and family, food and drink. A highlight was visiting funky, small Few Spirits distillery in Evanston with Master Distiller Paul Hletko. In my book, Few is the most exciting distillery to come out of Chicago, both in the gin and… Read more →