Orchard City Kitchen At Liquor.com, you’ll find my 9 top whisk(e)y cocktails on menus around the country at these bars/restaurants: The Limbo, Louisville Cold Drinks at China Live, San Francisco Proof on Main at 21c Hotel, Louisville Bar Arbolada, Oklahoma City Orchard City Kitchen, Campbell, CA (Silicon Valley) Gunther & Co., Baltimore Bon Voyage!, San Francisco Butchertown Grocery & Lola, Louisville Pinewood Social, Nashville While much of the US is gripped… Read more →
Published November 28, 2018, in conjunction with a TV episode on the same subject, my article for KCET in Los Angeles on San Francisco’s historic Chinatown, legend Cecilia Chang, Mister Jiu’s and chef Brandon Jew, China Live, The Wok Shop, America’s first Chinatown’s past, present and future: www.kcet.org/shows/the-migrant-kitchen/the-ever-shifting-future-and-flavor-of-san-franciscos-chinatown Read more →
My latest at Time Out on 10 top “speakeasy” or rather, hidden, bars. Article here. _____________________________________________________________________ ”Speakeasy” is a tired bar term for San Franciscans. Following NYC players like Angel’s Share and Milk & Honey, SF was the earliest in the country to jumpstart the speakeasy trend when Bourbon and Branch opened in 2006. Though the overplayed trend has taken… Read more →
Published at Liquor.com this Summer 2018, my regular update on San Francisco/the Bay Area’s top 11 new bars: www.liquor.com/series/new-san-francisco-bars/ Read more →
Published at Liquor.com this Spring 2018, my regular update on San Francisco/the Bay Area’s top 11 new bars: The 11 Best New Bars in San Francisco: Spring 2018 China Live’s Cold Drinks, Chinatown Charmaine’s (rooftop bar at the Proper Hotel), Tenderloin The Douglas Room, Union Square/Downtown Gibson, Tenderloin/Union Square Junior, Mission The Kon-Tiki, Oakland The Riddler, Hayes Valley Rusted Mule,… Read more →
In my latest Time Out column, here are my top 12 new restaurant openings of 2017… and the first places you should check out in 2018 (article here): 1. Eight Tables / China Live (my full Eight Tables review here) 2. Gibson3. Robin4. Acacia House, St. Helena (Napa)5. The Charter Oak, St. Helena (Napa)6. Foxsister7. Barcino8. RT Rotisserie9. Khai10. Alta in… Read more →
It is Scotch month at Liquor.com (a favorite subject of mine) and here are 11 of my top Scotch cocktails around the US now (click on each for the featured cocktail and bar/restaurant): Scotch is a serious drink: no question about it. But it’s also versatile and can be, dare we say it… playful? Bartenders nationwide are making the case… Read more →
The notable restaurant openings of May were City Counter, Tahini, Chris Cosentino’s Acacia House in Napa, A Mano, Miller’s Rest, Dumpling Time, Le Marais Bakery’s second location in the Castro, The Catamount in Los Gatos, The Castro Fountain (the second location from Ice Cream Bar owner), Reem’s in Oakland. I have yet to make it to Reem’s (soon), Acacia House or The… Read more →
Covering the 11 hottest cocktails of the month around the US at Liquor.com, you’ll find my bar and drink recommends this month at these bars/restaurants (click on each for the featured cocktail): June is the gateway to Summer. And with it come inventive refreshers from Vancouver to Tulsa that show off the warm weather (or the promise of) to fine… Read more →
March (finally) brought the ambitious, long-anticipated China Live to Chinatown (which I wrote about numerous times from Food Republic to Zagat). The month also delivered another major beer restaurant: Hitachino Beer & Wagyu (in its soft opening mode so will be in consideration for top openings of April as it officially “opens”), and cocktail-centric restaurant, The Douglas Room. Other notable March… Read more →