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 →
After multiple visits to Vancouver the past few years, the city’s majestic water and mountain views make it a Canadian favorite and West Coast sister, down to its rich B.C. wine regions and seasonal ingredient focus. From nearby Whistler to Okanagan Valley, greater Vancouver holds some kindredship to California’s ease of mountains, bay, ocean, vineyards and farmland, all within easy access of a large city, though certainly with much colder climes.
These 12 either remain favorites over multiple visits, are notable newcomers or hold standout tastes. The highs — and, when relevant — lows of 12 Vancouver restaurants: Read more →
Marlena bravely opened in September 2020 in the throes of pandemic (my initial review here), in the former Hillside Supper Club space, from husband-wife chef duo David Fisher and Serena Chow Fisher (who cooked at venerable Jean-Georges and Eleven Madison Park in NYC, as well as Sorrel in SF and Bird Dog in Palo Alto). I named it one of the top 6 openings of 2020, a bleak year for restaurants globally. They went on to gain a Michelin star in 2021, hailed for “deftly marrying simplicity with sophistication.” Indeed. Read more →
THIS ISSUE:
— House Pasta & Caviar to A5 Charcuterie Decadence: SoMa’s new AFICI.
— Honing Palate & How to Make a Tequila with Spirits Whisperer Virginia Miller: My interview at Edible LA Magazine.
— One Year In: Creative NorCal Japanese shines at restaurant Nisei.
— NYC Guide: 12 top places to dine now.
— September Eats Checklist: 6 standouts of the month, from Brittany-style French crêpes to NY slice pizza.
— Distiller Bottle Column: I review tequila, Scotch, gin, vodka, sake, mezcal, American whiskeys, RTDs. Read more →
The lofty, industrial space that housed Alexander’s Steakhouse Group’s The Patio pop-up during pandemic, opened as AFICI on September 24, 2022, on a heavily-trafficked stretch of Folsom Street during rush hours in San Francisco’s South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood.
But AFICI is not a steakhouse, rather it’s a fine dining restaurant with a regularly changing, four-course prix fixe menu shaped by seasonality, full animal utilization, handmade pastas and unique house charcuterie program centered around A5 wagyu beef. Read more →
Published October 5, 2022, at Edible LA Magazine, I thank Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Lisa Alexander for this interview: If there’s anyone who knows about palate, it’s Virginia Miller. For fifteen years she’s been a dining, cocktail, spirits and drink writer and editor, as well as a professional spirits awards judge for umpteen global awards (as well as a dining, bars and cocktail… Read more →
Growing up just outside NYC in NJ during my high school years, my family’s subsequent years living there a good decade after I moved back to CA meant I was usually back twice a year, including holidays in NYC. So the City always held “second home” familiarities and my first awakening to being a city girl, even as Manhattan is typically a dining city of as many lows and overhyped spots as it highs over the past decades… the majority of restaurants I researched this trip were good to superb. Now we dig into 12 dining experiences from this year’s return to my teenage stomping grounds, including highlights and, when relevant, what to avoid: Read more →