THIS ISSUE:
— November Eats Checklist: 7 standout restaurants & newcomers of the month.
— Seoul Guide: Where to dine & stay in Korea’s capital city.
— Malaysian Buzz in Sleepy Outer Noe: The new Damansara.
— Rosemary & Pine: Playful neighborhood comfort from Michelin-starred team.
— Distiller Magazine Honolulu: Interview with Pint+Jigger and Harry’s Hardware Emporium bar manager Dave Newman. Read more →
These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from Greek mezé to dim sum. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews, these seven are also worth visiting, with last month’s standouts here (as always, I’ve vetted, visited or ordered from each place reviewed): Read more →
In deep dives tasting my way around Singapore, to my love for dear departed places like Indonesian great Warung Siska (chef Siska Silitonga, please come back!), I am crazy about the unique cuisines of this island-heavy corner of Southeast Asia. This includes Malaysia, which deeply informs much of Singaporean cuisine as its very close neighbor and sister. Together, they’re known for incredible dishes like kaya toast or laksa soup (although there are styles of laksa in Indonesia and southern Thailand as well). So I was certainly delighted when I heard chef Tracy Goh found an outer Noe Valley brick-and-mortar space for her Malaysian pop-up, Damansara, opened October 19, 2022. Read more →
In addition to the great Born & Bred and Byeokje Galbi, which I write about in my upcoming article on the not widely understood world of Korean barbecue, here are eight standout Seoul restaurants, fine dining to casual, and two recommended hotels (stay tuned for my Seoul cocktail bar guide in 2023): Read more →
Debuting October 13, 2022, Rosemary and Pine (R&P) opened in the former Skool space on a sleepy block of San Francisco’s Design District, nestled between SoMa, Mission Bay and Potrero Hill. R&P is the latest restaurant from the Omakase Restaurant Group behind the likes of Michelin-starred steakhouse Niku, Michelin-starred sushi spot, Omakase, and Dumpling Time, all three around the corner from R&P. The space is warmer since Skool days, redesigned by Aya Yanagisawa, in neutral tone like a warmer-than-olive green, with a glowing bar and huge asset of a roomy, hidden front patio. Read more →
In the Fall 2022 print issue (Vol. 18. Issue 2) of Distiller Magazine:
— My article on 10 of Honolulu’s best bars
— My interview with David Weglarz of StilL 630 Read more →
THIS ISSUE:
— Tenderheart: Chef & bar masters work their magic at the new Line Hotel SF.
— Rich Table 10 Years In: Celebrating one of the best restaurants in the nation.
— NYC Bar Guide: My top 10 newer — and a few modern day classic — NYC bars now at Gin Magazine.
— Distiller Bottle Column: I review Mexican rum, pisco, gin, shrubs, mezcal, vodka, American whiskeys, non-alcoholic spirits, RTDs (canned/bottled cocktails).
— Healdsburg Adventures: With SingleThread, Little Saint and Montage, thanks to Remy Martin Cognac and Michelin. Read more →
When Michelin Guide and Rémy Martin Cognac host a weekend with Healdsburg (the popular town in northern Sonoma County) greats, you go. Especially when its with three Michelin, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ SingleThread and luxe hotel Montage Healdsburg… and in your “backyard” just over an hour from home… Following in these steps, a pampering weekend or overnight could involve either or both of these restaurants and a stay at the Montage with highlights and key points on each. Read more →
The LINE Hotel is an uber-hip line of boutique hotels only in LA, DC, Austin and San Francisco, with the latest sleek LINE Hotel SF opened August 2022 on Market and Turk Streets next to the Warfield. The good news for food and drink lovers is that the hotel also houses restaurants overseen by talented chef Joe Hou and bar master and beverage consultant Danny Louie, who I’ve written about for a good decade, with his unique and oh-so-SF cocktail artistry. Read more →
My latest feature in Gin Magazine, October 2022, is my Bar Guide to 10 top bars in New York City now:
Double Chicken Please, Lullaby, Mister Paradise, Banzarbar, Valerie, The Cabinet, Bar Goto and Bar Goto Niban, Amor y Amargo, Marathi. Read more →