“Do you have a body? Don’t sit on the porch! Go out and walk in the rain! If you are in love, then why are you asleep? Wake up, wake up! You have slept millions and millions of years. Why not wake up this morning?” – the poet Kabir There are just always too many Top Tastes, best new places,… Read more →
Of Espresso, Vino, Seafood, Burmese, Italian, Korean Tacos, Grits & More
SAVORY – VEGETARIAN • There are a number of Burmese gems in SF (see last month’s Top Tastes), but I’ve been getting my lunch lately at a little alley Burmese restaurant that’s quite tasty: Yellow Pa Taut. Traditional Tea Leaf or Ginger Salad ($9.95 each) are treated well here (ask for the Ginger Salad without dried shrimps if you’re a… Read more →
Weekending in Monterey, Pacific Grove & Carmel
A recent weekend trip to the Monterey/Pacific Grove/Carmel area was ‘just what the doctor ordered’ for my deadline/detail-overloaded mind lately. The Renaissance Man and I took to the rocks along the sea like kids, climbing as far out as we could get, oohing and aahing at big waves and shimmering blue. California is one gorgeous place and there’s a reason… Read more →
Supperclub’s Uber Dinner II
Here’s a mini-photo peek from photos I took a Supperclub’s crazy, memorable Uber Dinner II with Jamie Lauren (Top Chef, Absinthe) and Jennie Lorenzo (Fifth Floor) as guest chefs preparing a four course meal paired with a Supperclub show. Read Top Tastes for favorite taste of the night or my Bay Guardian “Appetite” summary of the evening. Though guest chefs… Read more →
June 1, 2009
“If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches…” – Rainer Maria Rilke It’s June! Top Tastes (best new places, dishes, drinks and bites from my culinary explorations) is mighty full again. Bibliophile highlights Sir Kingsley Amis’ classic collection, Everyday Drinking. In Around the Bay, it’s… Read more →
Top Tastes: Pastrami Pizza to South Indian Uttapam
“…all really interesting people – sportsman, explorers, musicians, scientists, vagabonds and writers – were vitally interested in good things to eat and drink; cared for exotic and intriguing ways of composing them. Diplomats and colonial officials were pungent gourmets.” – Charles H. Baker, Jr., “The Gentleman’s Companion” Is it just me or does it seem like despite the state of… Read more →
Bibliophile: Everyday Drinking – Kingsley Amis’ Classic
“Everday Drinking” – KINGSLEY AMIS Kingsley Amis, the late, great British author (who was knighted in 1990, just a few years before his death) was more than an amateur imbiber. He describes himself as “having the reputation of being one of the great drinkers, if not one of the great drunks, of our time.” What stands out most, I think,… Read more →
Jazz & Chocolate at Cioccolata Di Vino, Berkeley
CIOCCOLATA DI VINO 1801 Shattuck Avenue, Suite C Berkeley, CA 94709 510-898-1392 www.cioccolatadivino.com Open just a few months now, I’ve been eager to try this dessert-focused spot, ever wishing there were more options for post-dinner imbibements. Berkeley’s Cioccolata di Vino does have a Savory antipasti menu with some pleasing-looking Italian plates, but I’m not going for that… I want the… Read more →
May 15, 2009
“Yet still the unresting castles thresh In fullgrown thickness every May. Last year is dead, they seem to say Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.” – “The Trees”, Philip Larkin What’s another issue of The Perfect Spot doing in my inbox so soon, you might be thinking? Well, as I briefly mentioned in my last issue, I’m experimenting taking the few articles… Read more →
May 2009 Top Tastes
(Upon discovering champagne): “Come quickly! For I am drinking in the stars.”– Dom Perignon Let’s go ahead and give the whole spread at Pican’s Kentucky Derby Party in Oakland a nod. Hard-pressed to pick from the all-you-can-eat (and drink – Mint Juleps) menu: it might be Louisiana Crawfish Toasts, signature Buttermilk Fried Chicken (in wing form), super-smoky Ham Biscuits with… Read more →