Food with a View: New Life at Navio in The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay

by  on  in Around the Bay

This week I veer from reviewing a San Francisco restaurant South to the Ritz-Carlton’s signature restaurant Navio. With this summer’s promotion of Chilean-born chef Roberto Riveros from executive sous chef to executive chef over all the resort’s culinary operations (restaurants, banquets, in-room dining), alongside Navio chef de cuisine Francisco Simón, Riveros has run or cooked in kitchens from Santiago to Hong Kong, including six years at three Michelin-star Lasarte in Barcelona. Simón cooked Michelin-starred restaurants throughout Spain, including being head chef of Enoteca Paco Pérez in Barcelona, and Navio is his first cooking venture in the states. Together they are changing up the kitchen at Navio. Read more →

Fort Point Valencia’s Playful Take on SF-Style Seafood & Historic SF Dishes

by  on  in Top Tastes

In February 2022, I visited and reviewed Fort Point Valencia as it reopened. Reborn from a long pandemic closure, it was a shining example of a local, SF-based brewery with a unique, fresh style and focus… But with the recent departure of chef Eric Ehler and the arrival of new culinary director Cecile Macasero (former chef de cuisine at SF’s Michelin-starred Thai great, Kin Khao, which, thankfully, is about to reopen, and of Renee Erickson’s award-winning Sea Creatures group in Seattle), the food has totally changed to a refreshing — and playful — take on SF-style seafood. Read more →

Purity On the Plate & In the Glass: The New Bar Agricole

by  on  in The Latest

Those of us who have been in dining, cocktails and spirits a long while know the importance of Bar Agricole since it opened in San Francisco’s SoMa district in 2011. Not only was it nominated every year since 2012 for James Beard Outstanding Bar Program in the nation — finally winning in 2019, but founder and bar vet Thad Vogler (who helped open pioneering bars like Bourbon and Branch) wrote an intriguing and definitive book on farmhouse-distilled and naturally sourced spirits, By the Smoke and the Smell: My Search for the Rare and Sublime on the Spirits Trail… Read more →

September 15, 2022

by  on  in Intro Letter

THIS ISSUE:
— Vietnamese Food Haven (with Cocktails): Bodega SF reviewed.
— PDX Guide: Where to Eat, Drink & Stay in Portland, Oregon, now.
— Hayes Valley’s Buzzy New Neighborhood Hang: Joey Altman’s Hazie’s reviewed.
— Distiller Bottle Column: I review aquavit, mezcal, gin, vodka, rum, aperitivo, Irish spirit, tequila, American whiskeys, RTDs (canned/bottled cocktails).
— Weekend-ing: Japanese food, drink & cultural events at new Sunnyvale Hotel, Tetra.

Read more →

Hayes Valley’s Buzzy New Neighborhood Hang: Hazie’s

by  on  in The Latest

On August 11, 2022, the former Stacks space in Hayes Valley came to life again as Hazie’s from Hat Trick Hospitality team (The Brixton, Rambler). The name is rough, even a bit cheesy, but the space is dramatically reborn via ROY Hospitality Design: uncovered windows and open space make it look far bigger than before. A curved, sweeping bar, colorful artwork in nooks and plenty of spots for couples and groups, make it feel like the large neighborhood hangout Hayes Valley was missing. Gazing over Patricia’s Green, it takes in the bustle outside, feeling like a party inside at peak hours. Read more →

Vietnamese Food Haven (with Cocktails) at Bodega

by  on  in The Latest

San Francisco’s Tenderloin has long been a key neighborhood for Vietnamese food, its western blocks dubbed Little Saigon. Head out to the entire half of the city that includes the Richmond, Sunset and Parkside districts and you have an array of Vietnamese restaurants, banh mi shops, pho houses and the like. But there’s nothing quite like new Bodega, from its sleek, modern diner decor to cocktails with Vietnamese food… Read more →

PDX: Where to Eat, Drink & Stay Now in Portland

by  on  in Wandering Traveler

I’ve spent many years visiting Portland (PDX), OR, covering its restaurants, bars, distilleries, coffee shops and beyond. This August was my first return since pandemic, with plenty to catch up on, especially over only two short days. Don’t worry: per usual, I packed it in at over 12 spots plus a farmers market.

Here are 10 places to eat and drink in PDX now… what stood out, what to avoid (if anything) and overall highlights: Read more →