“Music melts all the separate parts of our bodies together.” – Anais Nin This issue, Top Tastes savors “sushi burritos”, coffee and affogato in Parkside, dishes from Fifth Floor’s new chef, impeccable (and affordable) sushi, truffled egg and salmon, heartwarming French and Roman fare. The Latest delights in Austrian food and wine at brand new Leopold’s. Around the Bay visits… Read more →
Top Tastes: Of Sushi Burritos, Fine Dining, Italian & French Neighborhood Gems
Top Tastes, rather than a list of all-time favorites (another thing altogether), are among the best eats since my last newsletter, often from new openings. Many don’t make the cut, being a revisit previously written about or simply not as stand-out as dishes mentioned. I’ve started the new year eating a lot (how is this different from any other year?)… Read more →
Leopold’s Brings Austrian Warmth to Russian Hill
With the words Treffen (meet), Trinken (drink), Essen (eat) painted under the name, Leopold’s offers something with no parallel in our city: an Austrian restaurant. Leopold’s opened quietly this past Friday night in a cheery, bright space on Polk Street housing animal heads, Austrian art, pine wood tables and booths. Here, the relaxed warmth of a neighborhood beer haus (with… Read more →
Around the Bay: Previewing Berkeley’s German Newcomer, Gaumenkitzel
GAUMENKITZEL, meaning ‘delight for the taste buds’, opens later this week (if all goes as planned) in an open, sunny space on San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley. Owner Anja Voth brings restaurant and patisserie experience from Hamburg and Berlin. Her husband Kai Flache constructed and designed the restaurant with his local firm. They operate as a gracious, complimentary team. A… Read more →
Top Ten Tastes at the 2011 FANCY FOOD SHOW at Moscone Center, 1/16-18
Fancy Food, the largest showcase of specialty foods in North America (held annually in NYC and SF) returned to the Moscone Center, January 16-18. Again I explored thousands of products from around the world, with the limits of my stomach to slow me after hours of sampling. Fancy Food showcases trends in food, which there’s been much talk of… Read more →
January 15, 2011
“I wanted to get lost and love the questions there Beauty and the truth I could breathe like air Then I finally found the signposts in a strange land.” – Sam Phillips’ song “Signposts” The new year is certainly in full swing already. My moments of solitude and reflection have been sweet but I’m already fighting to keep them in… Read more →
Visiting Bourbon Steak – Union Square
I’ve been a couple times to Michael Mina’s new Bourbon Steak in Union Square… admittedly a national chain, something I approach with caution, if at all. But, then, it’s Michael Mina. Hype, fame and all, I’ve consistently experienced great to superb meals at his flagship restaurant over the years. Bourbon Steak held some warm and fuzzy Mina moments. I almost… Read more →
Talking Breakfast, Coffee, Thai, Korean, Peruvian, Middle Eastern & More Cheap Eats
Top Tastes, rather than a list of all-time favorites (another thing altogether), are among the best eats since my last newsletter, often from new openings. Many don’t make the cut, being a revisit previously written about or simply not as stand-out as dishes mentioned. A MEAL CHABAA THAI’S Pork Neck Larb, Inner Sunset – I am transported straight back to… Read more →
The 10 Best Openings of 2010
In a ridiculously rich year of new restaurant openings, the most prolific I’ve seen yet, it is harder than ever to name the top ones. There are many noteworthy places, from the “Mad Men”-esque vibe of Thermidor, to the stratospheric prices and fabulous snapping turtle veloute at Benu. Some of our best cafes (Ma’velous) and cocktail bars (Burritt Room) were… Read more →
Around the Bay: Best Bay Area Restaurant Openings 2010
In Top Tastes I list the top ten new restaurant openings of the year in San Francisco. Here I list an additional four best new Bay Area openings: one in the South Bay, two in the East Bay, one in Wine Country. In the midst of Oakland’s continued proliferation as a dining hotspot and the new downtown Napa reign of… Read more →