Live Music from Conservatory Students with Food from Chef Legend Loretta Keller: Uccello Lounge

by  on  in The Latest

Chef Loretta Keller is a San Francisco treasure since she opened Bizou in 1993, which became the long-beloved COCO500 in 2005… I’ve dined at all her ventures multiple times over the last 21 years, so delighted I was to see her return… to open Uccello Lounge on the ground floor of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s (SFCM) new Bowes Center. Read more →

July 1, 2022

by  on  in Intro Letter

THIS ISSUE:
— Michelin-Starred SF Great: State Bird Provisions, 10 years in.
— June Eat & Drink Checklist: These five newcomers (or new menus) cover the gamut, from Korean hot pot to Roman-style pizza.
— Brand New For the Record & Members Only Reviewed: Two female bartenders with a perspective you can taste in the glass.
— Honolulu Guide 2022, Part 2: 10 Top Restaurants Now + Where to Stay.
— 12 Summer Wines & Somm-Curated Wine Clubs.

Read more →

June Eat & Drink Checklist: 5 Standout Newcomers

by  on  in Top Tastes

These five newcomers (or new menus) cover the gamut, from Korean hot pot to Roman-style pizza. Here is what is standing out at each, alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews. And for the kids (and kid in you), hit up brand new Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience Store, tributing Ghirardelli’s 170th anniversary with much more seating options (read: no lines for locals) and chocolate-making viewing, in-house sundaes, ice cream and chocolate drinks (as always, I’ve vetted, visited or ordered from each place reviewed): Read more →

Two Female Bartenders With A Perspective You Can Taste in the Glass: For the Record & Members Only

by  on  in Imbiber, The Latest

A few elements must align to come into one’s own voice and it’s never a one-time deal but an ongoing evolution. Maturity, experience and time are the oft-discounted but key factors to holistic integration for those pursuing it. However, other crucial pieces include timing and the right platform/s from which to express one’s voice…

Normally, this Friday review is devoted to restaurants: and both these new bars serve food, so we’ll get into that. But this week, it’s more about drink menus on par with great food and about two women coming into their voice on their current menus: Read more →

Michelin-Starred SF Great, State Bird Provisions, 10 Years In

by  on  in Best Of, Top Tastes

When Michelin-starred State Bird Provisions opened in December 2012, I reviewed it at the SF Bay Guardian, saying, “Jazz is the soundtrack of the streets of Lower Fillmore. From its storied days as the ‘Harlem of the West,’ to the current seat of… blues/jazz venues, the subtly gritty streets echo with its soulful past. I would venture to say Fillmore newcomer State Bird Provisions is an ideal jazz companion. There’s no musical connection. But the spirit of jazz is present in their playful, dim sum-style presentation… and in the way… Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, evolve the menu almost daily… Plates flow out on carts or trays like an experimental jazz riff, but never feel rootless.”

10 years (and a few months) later, jazz fanatic that I am, still feeling those improvisational chops, even as the team has evolved. Review here: Read more →