From mid-October to mid-November, here are 6 standout cocktails and new menus I’ve been tasting around the Bay Area. 1. 15 Romolo’s Miraculous Milk Punch With in-house sherry expert Ian Adams and an impressive collection of over 500 spirits, 15 Romolo has been one of SF’s greatest bars for over a decade. Their sherry collection is one of their strengths and… Read more →
There is a vibrant range of quality bars in Houston (my top 10 Houston food recommends here), a city whose drink scene is on the rise, whether the cocktail bar that finally ushered in the cocktail renaissance here in 2009, Anvil, to the city’s strongest Italian amaro selection and cocktails at Coltivare. Some spots didn’t quite work for me: the… Read more →
Bone-broth cocktails, anyone? That’s exactly what you’ll find at Belcampo Meat Co.’s San Francisco restaurant and butcher shop selling meats from their visionary farm. Their first drink menu launched Thursday, March 12, created by cocktail greats Jon Gasparini and Greg Lindgren, who opened Rye on the Road, Rye and 15 Romolo.
Of the wide number of cocktails I taste in a month, here are 10 January-early February standouts from restaurants, bars and events around the Bay Area. 1. Hawker Fare’s Witch Doctor Chef James Syhabout (of Michelin-starred Commis in Oakland) just opened Hawker Fare SF a couple weeks ago. Though I was disappointed in the food at Oakland’s Hawker Fare since… Read more →
Mexico City’s (MX) dining scene is HOT. Gorgeous diners smoke cigarettes while dining on sashimi platters accented by Mexican flavors from chiles to avocado. Experimentation – the likes of which is far advanced even from what one finds in Mexico’s second largest city, Guadalajara – reinvents classic Mexican flavors through an international, cosmopolitan lens (in San Francisco, the recent arrival… Read more →
A celebratory or comforting drink is just what we crave at this time of year. With an excellent bite? Even better. Here’s a few of the most noteworthy drinks, winter cocktail menus and dishes in SF as 2012 passes into 2013. AME, SoMa (689 Mission St. at 3rd St. in the St. Regis Hotel, 415-284-4040) It’s not a cocktail, and… Read more →
FIVE PLAYFUL SUMMER DISHES Here’s five dishes that made a recent impression, from meaty, current-day classics in Oakland, at a bar brunch, and along Market Street, to fresh new joys in Palo Alto and SF – each bringing a little sunshine to the table. 15 ROMOLO – Fried Chicken Bacon Breakfast Biscuit Sandwich Brunch at one of the city’s best… Read more →
Grandaddy of the speakeasy resurgence, New York’s Milk & Honey, has been doing the menu-less thing since 2000, while places like LA’s Library Bar get their inspiration from daily-changing, farmers market produce. Two fascinating new SF bars are serving custom cocktails their own way, only able to go sans menu because of strong talent behind the bar. RIO GRANDE, Mid-Market (1108 Market… Read more →
Seasoned doesn’t mean old. In fact, what impresses about these five is that their knowledge consistently marries youthful love for their subject and customers. Whether in years of bartending or expertise in classic cocktails and customer service, these five have long encapsulated what made San Francisco a leader in the Cocktail Renaissance of the past decade plus, not a recent… Read more →
Spring imparts new life and lush green after Winter rains. It also ushers in a glut of Spring cocktail menus emphasizing the best produce of the season and new trends. Bottled Cocktail Line-up Bottled cocktails are sprouting up everywhere, including just-opened (on April 12), 1950’s era speakeasy, Local Edition, from the Bourbon & Branch crew. There is no carbonation here,… Read more →