Smoke hangs like haze over harvested fields, The wild gander leads his flock through the cool night, Ya-honk! he says, and sounds it down to me like an invitation: The pert may suppose it meaningless, but I listen closer, I find its purpose and place up there toward the November sky. – Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, 1855, I Celebrate… Read more →
Dining at Ducca, Downtown’s Italian Newcomer
DUCCA 50 3rd St (between Mission & Market) In the Westin Hotel San Francisco, CA 94105 415-977-0271 www.duccasf.com I start off with a caveat: I have only been to Ducca for lunch. I’ve heard the buzz: dinner can be noisy with the bar’s volume permeating the restaurant and the patio is not always ideal depending on weather. That being said,… Read more →
Delightfully Old School: West Portal
The October issue of San Francisco Magazine dubbed West Portal the “Noe West” of San Francisco. I do not see the similarity other than a high family quotient, finding my home of Noe more charming and intimate (biased, I know). But I adore West Portal for other reasons: its somewhat dated, suburban main street circa 1970s, “lost in time” feel.… Read more →
Is The Spotted Pig Worth The Hype?
THE SPOTTED PIG Neighborhood: Manhattan/West Village314 W 11th Street(between Greenwich St & Hudson St)New York, NY 10014(212) 620-0393www.thespottedpig.com I visited The Spotted Pig back in the Spring, before their chef, April Bloomfield, was given a coveted Best New Chef award in the July issue of “Food and Wine” magazine. The hype around this West Village “British Gastropub” has become somewhat… Read more →