From its iconic Gateway Arch, the tallest manmade monument in the Western hemisphere, to its rich blues music history, St. Louis can be easy nationally to miss.
There is plenty of mediocrity on the food front, to be sure… But over two visits in 2022, I visited over 40 STL restaurants, food stops and bars, with these 13 holding the strongest highlights: Read more →
We step inside Coho, a sustainable seafood eatery inspired by the California coast: Read more →
From recent staycations in the Silicon Valley town of Sunnyvale to the coast in Half Moon Bay, for 21 years I’ve researched and written of hotels, food and drink across the Peninsula. The Bay Area’s “south Bay” is yet another rich and diverse county in our wonderland of NorCal food.
My 10 Time Out dining recommends in Palo Alto still stand — as does a totally different getaway off the 101 freeway in Palo Alto, Four Seasons Silicon Valley. But here are three key newcomers in dining and a boutique hotel worth a local getaway. Read more →
Reviewed this issue:
— La Marielita 18 Year Rum (Panama)
— González Byass NV Viña AB 12 Años Amontillado Seco Palomino
— Glendalough Rose Gin
— Torani Puremade Toasted Black Sesame Syrup
— NON Everyday Non-Alcoholic Wines
— Morris Whisky Australian Single Malt Signature & Muscat Barrel Whiskies Read more →
Few U.S. cities have a fraction of the world class bakeries that line San Francisco, a city that has led the baking renaissance of the past 20 plus years — again in the 1970s-80 and was a baking leader since the 1800s when famed Boudin Bakery established the city as the world’s sourdough capital.
These two new bakeries — Juniper and Starter Bakery — feel already poised to join our long list of bakery greats, of which any single one would top the “bests” in any city. Read more →
THIS ISSUE:
— March Eats Checklist: 5 Standouts of the Month, from heartwarming Jamaican food to another worthy Italian seafood haven in North Beach
— SF’s New Copra: Coastal India vibes & relaxed, modern Indian cuisine from a chef who ran the U.S.’ only 2 Michelin Indian restaurant.
— Top Cocktail Bars in Seoul, South Korea: My Whisky Magazine bar guide.
— Anomaly SF: Hidden whimsical-molecular restaurant (formerly a beloved pop-up) opens on a sleepy residential block. Read more →
These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from heartwarming Jamaican food to another worthy Italian seafood haven in North Beach. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews, these five are also worth visiting. Read more →
For a decade I’ve been raving about chef Srijith “Sri” Gopinathan’s cooking, even before he became the only Indian chef in the U.S. with a two Michelin-starred restaurant for Indian fine dining at Taj Campton Place, San Francisco. I dined there after he started in 2008, when he started showing his range in his Spice Route menu, as he garnered a Michelin star, and again as he moved to two stars.
Thrilled I was to hear of Thapar and Gopinathan back in SF, taking over the former Dosa on Fillmore to open Copra Restaurant, focused on the coastal cuisines of India’s southern states, including chef Sri’s home state of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where he grew up. Read more →
The speakeasy trend peaked in the mid-aughts in New York and San Francisco cocktails bars where it first launched in the years prior, just as it was taking off around the country. But the clamor for “secret,” hidden spaces in restaurants and bars has not abated. There remains a thrill in finding a gem behind nondescript doors, a hidden room, a cozy hideaway.
Brand new Anomaly SF, opening January 19, 2023, from chef/owner (and former competitive cyclist) Mike Lanham, feels like just such a space. Read more →
THIS ISSUE:
— New Chef with Stockholm & London Roots: Reborn Michelin-starred Sons & Daughters.
— Palm Springs Guide: 18 places to eat, drink & stay now.
— 30 Years at One Market & New Fine Dining Chef at Luce: Two longtimers with new life.
— DISTILLER Bottle Column: This month I review sour cherry aperitif, rum, gin, Scotch, tequila, Indian whisky, non-alcoholic wine, American single malt and RTDs (ready-to-drink/canned) cocktails.
— Top Cocktail Bars in Seoul, South Korea: My Whisky Magazine bar guide. Read more →