2012 gave birth to a number of new openings I hope will be around for years to come. As ever, my goal is to include cheaper spots alongside mid-range or upscale openings, considering range and uniqueness. It being December, we cannot strictly cover the calendar year, so with each choice open at least two months, the opening date range goes… Read more →
Article by Virginia Miller, Press photos/from brand websites Each year holds a range of interesting spirits released from around the globe. As the craft spirit industry continues to explode, there are many exciting newcomers this year. Here are some of the best of what’s crossed my desk in 2012. FORD’s GIN ($27) – The 86 Company is a new venture… Read more →
San Francisco doesn’t lack for comfort food. The wave of gastropubs and gourmet comfort food of the past decade has insured most neighborhoods aren’t without elevated burgers and grown-up childhood favorites. Two new restaurants in SoMa and the Mission opened in September with very different menus but both with comfort at the forefront. COMPANY, Mission (1000 Guerrero at 22nd, 415-374-7479)… Read more →
An October week in what has historically been a Central California ranching (some say “cow”) town, Paso Robles is now best known for wine, maintaining its small town, cowboy spirit with a thriving wine scene that has everyone from natives to the creators of American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance opening wineries (I visited the gamut). Ever… Read more →
“The affinity comes before the bottle, but the wine amplifies the affinity. Is it just the alcohol? That feeling of well-being inherent in a glass or two of wine? Nobody likes to talk about the buzz factor, but clearly that’s a part of the wine experience. I don’t mean intoxication, inebriation or drunkenness. But alcohol is an essential part of… Read more →
GREEK COMFORT in West Portal Article & Photos by Virginia Miller OREXI, West Portal (243 W. Portal Ave. at 14th Ave., 415-664-6739) West Portal has long warmed my heart. Maybe it’s the removed setting, tucked away over the hill from Twin Peaks where the MUNI K and T lines end. Or it’s a sense of stepping back in time to… Read more →
Imagine if the Wild West collided with a European village. There might be winding, narrow streets through neighboring towns, plotting through pine trees. Old West saloons, wood sidewalks and columns, classic homes in walkable small towns. Not far from Lake Tahoe, at the foothills of the Sierra Mountains, there are two such tiny towns. The Gold Country towns of Grass Valley,… Read more →
Flavor! Napa is a five day food and wine festival in its second year, potentially the definitive event representing the wines of the region and the chefs and restaurants that make this grouping of small towns in the countryside one of the great culinary and wine destinations in the world. Despite some nasty rainstorms hitting the area for part of… Read more →
“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 →
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 →