“Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June.” – Al Bernstein I got through May’s SF heat wave (90 degree plus – happens maybe three times a year here), a little sunburned, with happy memories of warm nights at favorite neighborhood spots, on a friends’ deck overlooking the city skyline, or star-gazing on my roof with a great… Read more →
Top Tastes
FOOD Indian Pumpkin (there’s also Chicken Pumpkin) Enchilada with jack & cheddar cheese, curry sauce, yoghurt and tamarind drizzle at Avatars in Sausalito (it’s not on the menu, but trust me and ask for it!) Crawfish in spicy Cajun hot sauce with lime, pepper & salt at CoCo’s Crawfish (messy work to get a little meat, but a unique taste experience) in the… Read more →
Top Tastes: Ethiopian Favorites in SF & Berkeley
Ethiopian is a comforting, homey cuisine: spicy, filling and best when made fresh by a loving hand. Though there are a number of decent Ethiopian spots in San Francisco, and more broadly, the East Bay, many blend into each other as fairly average (like Lower Haight’s Axum Café, Café Ethiopia in the Mission, or Western Addition’s quirky dive bar, Club Waziema). Here… Read more →
On the Town
I’ve begun planning lunches around this Summer’s Noontime Concerts happening every Tuesday, June 3rd-August 26th. This is one of those unique SF experiences providing a chance for quiet reflection during your lunch hour through classical music. Sharing in a tradition that also occurs in New York, London and Chicago, Noontime Concerts states that they’re “part of an international network of churches, museums and… Read more →
Two Game-Changing NYC Bars
Back to my beloved New York City for double duty this month: we’ll imbibe as we travel! Sounds perfect to me. NYC has too many incredible, atmospheric drinking establishments to list… here are merely two. Angel’s Share: 8 Stuyvesant Street, 2nd fl. (between 9th St & 3rd Ave) Manhattan, NY, 10003 212.777.5415 It’s easy to miss this tiny East Village gem,… Read more →
May 2008
“Spring, an experience in immortality.” – Henry D. Thoreau For me, the pleasures of taste, of sound, of smell… are intensified by Spring’s gentle breezes, its subtle fruits and its glowing sunsets. My Top Tastes of the month: – A brilliant cappuccino (of Blue Bottle ilk) from Four Barrel Coffee – right now, get their coffee in the alley (Caledonia, between 14th &… Read more →
3 Belgian Beer Destinations: La Trappe, Monk’s Kettle & The Trappist
The Belgian craze hit hard last year with three Bay Area openings… its not new news. But it’s good news. Here’s my take after they have been open a few months: La Trappe: My personal favorite for atmosphere alone, made perfect by the beer selection. When you walk down a dark wood, winding staircase to the brick walled, candlelit basement, you’re… Read more →
Around the Bay: BREAKFAST in OAKLAND
East Bay breakfasts, particularly in Berkeley, are abundantly good, so I have a tough time deciding where to go across the Bay. Oakland has its own breakfast classics – we’ll explore one old and one new (don’t forget my favorite Oakland breakfast, the amazing Bakesale Betty’s bakery, which I highlighted in February). Brown Sugar Kitchen: In the wilds of West Oakland next to warehouses… Read more →
6-Month-Old Pizzeria Mozza
It almost doesn’t seem worth writing about a place that’s already such a hit… unless you love it enough to add your voice to the din. Enter Pizzeria Mozza. Though open little over half a year, reservations need to be made a month in advance and a line forms before it’s opening hour of noon. It’s not a hip “scene”,… Read more →
April 2008
“Reviewing has never struck me as having much to do with assigning scores or handing out demerits. The reviewer’s job – and pleasure – is akin to any reader’s. It is the pleasure of talk. If nobody talks about books [or the suject of review], if they are not discussed or somehow contended with, literature ceases to be a conversation,… Read more →