November 15, 2012

by  on  in Intro Letter

“Crackling is the voice of the thunder, Crackling within the shining black cloud, Broken are the mountain springs below, The god returns and dwells in the clefts; The god returns and dwells in obscurity…” – Fornander’s Collection of Hawaiian Antiquities and Folklore Just back from ten amazing days in Hawaii (articles and recommendations forthcoming), and now off to Flavor! Napa,… Read more →

Doughnuts & Bagels in OAKLAND

by  on  in Around the Bay

Bagels and doughnuts in their many iterations (beignets, malasadas, bomboloni, etc…) are two of the more comforting breakfast – or any time – foods. It’s tougher than it should be to find proper bagels, but alongside notable SF sources, the East Bay welcomes a few new arrivals.  I stop first for fuel at Berkeley’s just-opened coffee and wine bar Bartavelle for… Read more →

RUM TALES

by  on  in Imbiber

Rum bears a rough and tumble history, whether as the Royal Navy’s spirit of choice, or on a grim note, benefiting from the slave trade. Despite its dark days, rum thrives as the spirit of the Caribbean where, along with Latin America, the majority of the world’s rum is produced. Legend swirls throughout rum’s history, as with the story of… Read more →

Sea Change at Weird Fish & Georges

by  on  in Top Tastes

Two unrelated seafood restaurants have quietly undergone chef and menu changes in the last year. Less than impressed with both when they debuted, they’ve taken a turn for the better. There’s a low-key Mission seafood outpost with a vegan emphasis, Weird Fish, now Dante’s Weird Fish, and a Financial District restaurant catering to the FiDi set, Georges, with upscale-casual seafood.… Read more →

Eating Through Chicago

by  on  in Wandering Traveler

Last issue we journeyed through six newer cocktail destinations in Chicago – with a little food. This time, its food highlights from my recent Chi-town travels – sometimes with cocktails. Listing stand-out places or dishes, first I recap coffee, tamales and deep dish explorations. Though Intelligentsia Coffee was launched here in 1995 by San Francisco transplants Doug Zell and Emily… Read more →

November 1, 2012

by  on  in Intro Letter

“… Renaissance means “rebirth”, a rebirth of faith in our potential, a belief that what we do matters. For cultures, as for individuals, when we reach out courageously to express our ideals, our lives blossom into new possibilities.” – Diane Dreher, Your Personal Renaissance As this goes out, I am flying to Hawaii for the first half of November –… Read more →

Sweden’s Magnus Nilsson & SF’s Daniel Patterson Cook Together at Coi

by  on  in On the Town

  One Night Only: SWEDEN’s MAGNUS NILSSON & SF’s DANIEL PATTERSON Cook Together at COI Photos and article by Virginia Miller Food lovers in the know are well aware of Chef Magnus Nilsson and his restaurant Faviken Magasinet in the furthest reaches of northern Sweden, the small restaurant causing the biggest food magazines in the world to trek hours from… Read more →

Searching for Chocolate in SF & Around the World

by  on  in Top Tastes

Clearly we can’t get enough chocolate. As chocolatiers continue to proliferate around the country, we are blessed with an endless wealth of fine chocolate to choose from. Tirelessly sampling chocolates from every possible corner of the world, including every city and country I travel in, there are standouts from numerous angles, some perfecting a certain truffle, others a pure bean-to-bar… Read more →