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 →
Since Rich Table opened in July 2012, I knew it was “primed for greatness,” as I headlined my initial SF Bay Guardian review back in my Bay Guardian critic days. Rich Table (RT) went on to place on many best-of lists (including my own), earn a Michelin star for years (ridiculously — and I think errantly — dropped in 2021, hopefully rectified this year), James Beard nominations and a wonderful cookbook. This summer, they just turned 10 years old. Another huge feat in the restaurant world, especially when remains packed every night.
But what are they like 10 years in? Read more →
Reviewed this issue:
— Dakabend Pot Still Rum from Oaxaca
— Empirical Spirits in Copenhagen
— Lapostolle Pisco
— Siren Shrub Co.
— Gracias a Dios Receta Oaxaqueña Gin
and more… Read more →
THIS ISSUE:
— October Eats Checklist: 6 standouts of the month, from steakhouses (American and Argentinean) to Japanese tsukemen noodles.
—Marlena: Two-year-old neighborhood Michelin revamped on Precita Park.
— There Is A Time for Modern French Fare: Visiting the new La Société.
— Vancouver Guide: 12 top places to dine now.
— Orkney Meets the California Coast: Weekending with Highland Park in Pescadero. Read more →
Featured spots:
—Bay Views Steakhouse with New Chef: EPIC Steak
—Waterside Views & Standout Veggie Dishes: Terrene at 1Hotel
—Argentinian Staple: Lolinda
—Pizzas with Tiki Cocktails & Natural Wines: Pie Punks
—The Originator of Tsukemen Comes to SF: Taishoken
—One of SF’s Best (Newer) Dim Sum Spots: Dumpling Home Read more →
La Société Bar & Cafe, opening August 2022 inside the recently expanded Hyatt Regency San Francisco Downtown SOMA, may seem like a new restaurant for tourists, slowly returning conference go-ers and downtown workers. But despite being inside a downtown corporate chain hotel, this modern French brassiere featuring California ingredients is a worthwhile meal for locals, too. I’ll explain. Read more →
After years of having an account at roughly 6000 followers, all organically grown, posting the exact same food, drink, travel content from my daily work that I’ve simultaneously posted for even more years on Facebook and Twitter @ThePerfectSpot without any issue — all my own photos, videos, article links to my own stories, all unpaid posts — Instagram has deactivated my account for no reason and with no warning. Read more →
Glory days with Scotch, whisk(e)y and Highland Park specifically, are still flowing. This past weekend, a sunny, cool October weekend on the Pacific Ocean coast just roughly 50 miles south of San Francisco, I (along with a few other media, photographers and writers) spent an unforgettable couple days with our west coast HP team at Costanoa, an eco-camp and lodge in Pescadero where we “glamped” in nicely outfitted tent cottages. Read more →