Cocktails RICKHOUSE, Financial District – It’s been a rewarding Summer thus far for Rickhouse and its talented bar manager, Erick Castro. First, Castro won one of two mixologist of the year awards at StarChefs Rising Stars (see On the Town), then Rickhouse was nominated for three awards (more than any other SF bar) in an international nominees list for Tales… Read more →
QUEENS It’s always like coming home to my lifelong best friend in Queens, and now that my dear cousin lives in Brooklyn, I was able to take in some of the affordable eats in these boroughs in my couple days stay after a full week in Manhattan (see my other NY articles)… all excellent. Queens really does have some of… Read more →
Elizabeth Falkner is easily one of the widely acknowledged pastry greats in the US and chef of two SF restaurants, including Citizen Cake, which is moving to Fillmore Street, hopefully open by the beginning of July. Bubbly lover Falkner has created something sweet at Bubble Lounge, eager to take on creating desserts meant to pair with champagne/sparkling wine. She trained… Read more →
**Photos thanks to Susannah Chen of YumSugar (www.yumsugar.com)** Ghirardelli Square minus the tourists. A warm early Summer evening. VIP hour overlooking the Bay on a patio replete with fireplace, lounge chairs, champagne, Petrossian white sturgeon caviar on chips with creme fraiche and onion relish. Chefs, mixologists, sommeliers, industry folk, food and drink writers milling about. Not too crowded, well laid… Read more →
“I believe that the great American burger is a thing of beauty, its simple charms noble, pristine. The basic recipe… is, to my mind, un-improvable by man or God.” – Anthony Bourdain, “Medium Raw” As I sip Ritual Coffee prepared with Italian family flair from Potrero Hill’s charming new corner cafe, Caffe La Stazione (I’m delighted they plan to soon… Read more →
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. CHEAP EATS American Grilled Cheese Kitchen, South Park – It’s brand new, funky cute, with playful… Read more →
(From my print article in the Spring SCENE issue of the SF Bay Guardian): These two new bars debuted at the end of May, quietly ushering in what I hope might be a new “trend”: mellow, sophisticated bars creating expertly-crafted cocktails, both classic and contemporary… without attitude, exclusivity, and, dare I say it (?), mobs of douchey crowds turning an… Read more →
My May New York adventures brought me to some of the city’s newer treasures I’ve been desiring to partake in… a couple of them literally just opened weeks before, others open about a year. Brand New CIENFUEGOS (upstairs through Carteles sandwich shop), East Village – Open barely a month when I visited, this intriguing new rum bar is through a… Read more →
It is a joy when our city’s food/drink greats team up to form something unique. Such was Zare at Fly Trap’s three nights of Persian Pub Grub, running June 3-5, as envisioned by Zare’s chef/owner, Hoss Zare, and Monk’s Kettle’s Sayre Piotrkowski and Ryan Corbett. The exuberant, hospitable Hoss created a menu lovingly melding traditional elements of his home country… Read more →
“Love, with very young people, is a heartless business. We drink at that age from thirst, or to get drunk; it is only later in life that we occupy ourselves with the individuality of our wine.” – Isak Dinesen Is it really Summer? Just returned from a bustling trip to New York, this issue is NY-centric with Manhattan Cocktail Classic… Read more →