West Cork is known, according to an article in Bon Appetit back in May 2008, as “the California of Ireland,” due in part to its striking coastline and artisan foods. Though I see a far wider range of produce in Northern California than I did throughout County Cork, it’s clear Cork leads the way in Ireland. The wealth of produce… Read more →
Though my sweet tooth has diminished over the years, it only means I can’t stomach sickly sweet. I still take immense pleasure in a fine dessert. Here are desserts so good, they threaten to surpass the meal that came before: CITIZEN CAKE ICE CREAM PARLOR & EATS, Pacific Heights (2125 Fillmore Street between California & Sacramento, 415-861-2228) Citizen Cake has… Read more →
The wine scene never rests, particularly during harvest time. Besides traveling to Bordeaux for harvest a couple weeks ago (where I picked grapes with the harvesters one day in Sauternes), and continued weekends in Napa and Sonoma, I’ve been savoring the city’s latest wine bars, wine books, winemaker tastings, and a rare panel for Robert Mondavi staff of key winemakers… Read more →
The Renaissance Man surprised me recently with a quiet weekend away in Santa Cruz and unexpected meal off the slow, winding roads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Though Santa Cruz is far from my favorite town, its laid back feel and beaches work for a quick getaway from SF, and its gourmet pleasures peak with ice cream and coffee. Ice… Read more →
“No matter how developed you are in any other area of your life, no matter what you say you believe, no matter how sophisticated or enlightened you think you are, how you eat tells all.” – Geneen Roth Believe it or not, I am heading overseas again to Scotland, though just freshly returned from Bordeaux two weeks ago! I will… Read more →
Top Tastes is not a list of all-time favorites, rather the best tastes of the last two weeks (since my last newsletter), often from new openings. 3 NEWCOMERS: Tavern, Burgers, Tapas These three new places just opened; these early dishes jump out. PARK TAVERN, North Beach (1652 Stockton Street, 415-989-7300) Staring out at Washington Square Park and city views from… Read more →
Dublin surprises me. I expect the charm of a European city, particularly that certain appeal the Irish hold, but there’s indescribably more. Despite gray days and even incessant rain one day in Summer (plus one glorious, clear night), I fell under Dublin’s eclectic, literary spell cast by Joyce, Shaw, Yeats, and the many figures who came from or made their… Read more →
TEQUILA DON JULIO 70 ANJEO CLARO Don Julio 70 Añejo Claro is the 70th anniversary release created by Don Julio González himself. Yes, he is a person, who retired in 2002 but still creates anniversary recipes each decade (the last was his soft, elegant 1942 tequila released for their 60th anniversary). At 80 proof, Añejo Claro sounds gimmicky at first:… Read more →
Another year, another WhiskyFest. I’ve been attending a number of years now, ever relishing an opportunity to try unexplored whiskies, refresh my taste memory on others, and connect with whisk(e)y industry folk and distillers here from Kentucky to Scotland. A number of options listed as VIP tastes (more than ever this year) were not, in fact, available at all. Some… Read more →
“Paris, San Francisco, Tehran, all claim a part of me… I thought about how the kitchens where I was shaped belong to all these places, and yet none claim to be the center. I’ll always negotiate that in-between culture… I’ll always rely on the longing for these places, and I’ll always be learning to move between them without falling through… Read more →