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. MID-RANGE NOJO, Hayes Valley (231 Franklin Street at Linden, 415-896-4587, Sun-Mon/Wed-Thu 5-10pm, Fri-Sat 5-11pm) – Amazingly realized in its opening weeks, Nojo stands out in the glut of izakaya openings we’ve been… Read more →
After a dreamy week in Hawaii, I have a slew of recommendations to share with you in a multi-part series. I’ve covered farmers market street food in Honolulu and on the North Shore of Oahu, and Honolulu’s cocktail scene. Now we dine in Honolulu, on the hunt for the best. Next time, Kauai. Though I arrived with romantic Blue Hawaii… Read more →
Here are two of the best new lunch spots in town. SoMa residents/workers are lucky to have both, but they are worth a trek from anywhere in the city. ZARE’S GRILL & GRAIN – SoMa, 606 Folsom Street (at 2nd St.), 415-243-0580, lunch is weekdays only, 11am-2pm There’s no chef quite like Hoss Zare. All heart, skill and love, Hoss’… Read more →
Drink A couple recent Oakland nights included drinks at the relaxed, new Dogwood (with decent but not stand-out cocktails or atmosphere), and the following return visits: ADESSO, OAKLAND (4395 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, 94611, 510-601-0305) – You last heard me talk about Adesso in the Guardian and here in 2009. It has been one of Oakland’s best bars since opening with… Read more →
“It seems a pity that the world should throw away so many good things merely because they are unwholesome. I doubt if God has given us any refreshment which, taken in moderation, is unwholesome… Yet there are people who strictly deprive themselves of each and every eatable, drinkable and smokable which has in any way acquired a shady reputation. They… Read more →
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. With visiting friends and some down time, I’ve been frequenting stand-bys like Flying Fish Grill (in Half Moon Bay), the house, Woodhouse Fish Co., Fat Angel, Tacolicious, and hitting up re-vamped spots… Read more →
After a dreamy week in Hawaii, I have a slew of recommendations to share in a multi-part series. Last issue, I covered farmers market street food in Honolulu and on the North Shore of Oahu. This time, we sleep and drink in Honolulu, on the hunt for the best. Next issue, we’ll talk Honolulu restaurants. Though I arrived with romantic… Read more →
THE WILSON, aka Wilson & Wilson Private Detective Agency 505 Jones Street (between O’Farrell & Geary) On the same shady Tenderloin block as Bourbon & Branch, is its latest sibling. Look for a barred window labeled “Wilson & Wilson Private Detective Agency” next to a wood door sporting a peek hole. Do not enter here. Rather, you go through Bourbon… Read more →
Plate Shop, 39 Caledonia (at Johnson), Sausalito, 415-887-9047 Plate Shop is just what Sausalito (and Marin) needed: a city-savvy restaurant with proper cocktails and imaginative dish preparation. Not to say all is idyllic at this new hotspot. In early opening weeks, service is attentive but the clientele isn’t always so. I watched an overly-suntanned, blonde woman bark at her sweet… Read more →
I sample dozens of spirits, wines, beers and beyond in any given month. If there are tasting events (and there are), then multiply that a few times. I am working on perfecting spitting… and, yes, some tastes rise above others. Here, I share three (or less) sips in varying categories that rose above others: COCKTAILS ALEMBIC, – Alembic‘s Georgia Mud… Read more →