“i thank You God for most this amazing day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes.” – e.e. cummings Summer is speeding by… upon returning from the UK, I’ve been writing up a storm. My article on corn whiskey is in… Read more →
Korean Wave, Bee Hives at 5 Star Hotels, Basque Treatment
Top Tastes is not a list of all-time favorites, rather it’s about the best tastes of the last two weeks (since my last newsletter), often from new openings. Cheap Eats: Korean Wave SF may not be the Korean food mecca both LA and NY are, but there’s been a recent wave of Korean openings I can only hope signals a… Read more →
Top Summer Spirits in Scotch, Whiskey, Gin & Eaux de Vie
I sample dozens of spirits, wines, beers in any given month. If there are tasting events (and there are), then multiply that a few times. Here are ones that rose above in recent weeks: WHISK(E)Y LAPHROAIG 2011 CAIRDEAS – Laphroaig’s master distiller John Campbell and Global Brand Ambassador Simon Brooking were in SF a couple weeks ago. I spent an… Read more →
Eating Around London
It was 10 years ago that I spent a month in England, a country I felt immediately at home in. Returning to the incomparable London last month certainly revealed changes – most for the better, including the ignited culinary and cocktail scene (I covered cocktails last issue). Maybe it wasn’t as devastatingly amazing as some claimed (and produce still falls… Read more →
Cuban Delights in Oakland
There’s not enough Cuban food in the Bay Area. No, this is (thankfully) not Miami with its close proximity to Cuba and, therefore, plethora of Cuban food. But I wouldn’t trade the vibrant cuisines we are swimming in for anything. It’s with joy I speak of a new Cuban cafe, Cana, in Oakland. Pretty much a walk-up counter with one… Read more →
What I’m Reading Lately: Food Trucks, Mission Innovation, America’s Bars
I’m always reading – often not related to food or drink (give me poetry, classic literature, non-fiction, memoirs, religion and philosophy – I devour it all). But on the imbibing front, there are ever intriguing reads and resources to share… Food Mission Street Food: Recipes and Ideas from an Improbably Restaurant – Anthony Myint & Karen Leibowitz Leave it to… Read more →
July 1, 2011
“Those two short months in another country and another language had recalibrated my inner compass in ways that lingered with me… I was aware, above all, and at long last, that the world was a broad and grand place and that I was equal to and worthy of my surroundings wherever I went. I was also aware that no one,… Read more →
Top Tastes
THREE to WATCH Here’s two new places that just opened, showing a lot of promise… and one that keeps getting better. Sexy, ’70’s foodie lounge: CHAMBERS EAT+DRINK, Tenderloin (601 Eddy Street at Polk, 415-829-2316) The Phoenix Hotel has long exuded rock star hipness. Its prior restaurant was more bar than food destination… and it really wasn’t memorable on the drink… Read more →
7 Themes in Exploring London’s Cocktail Scene
Twenty-five bars across multiple areas, from Notting Hill to Hoxton… I did some serious exploring of London’s famed cocktail scene, from cutting-edge experimentation to divey comfort, legendary classics to just-opened destinations. I sipped with cocktail luminaries like Nick Strangeway over dinner at Hix, and imbibed incognito. As I dig into the scene in any city I travel, here’s my take-aways… Read more →
Dining with Winemakers from Austria & Bordeaux
Intimate and focused, there’s nothing like hearing from and tasting with a winemaker directly. Last issue, I met with three Napa/Sonoma winemakers. This issue, it’s two European ones from the unparalleled regions of Bordeaux and Kamptal. Look (or ask) for these wines in local wine shops. LAURENZ V., Austria – Technically Laurenz, the 5th (but read as Laurenz Five), Laurenz… Read more →