The Perfect Spot – Page 50 – a writer's passionate quest for the best food & drink around the world

August 15, 2020

by Virginia Miller on August 15, 2020 in Intro Letter

This Issue:
— As Restaurants Struggle, Bay Area Chefs Create a New Wave of Food Businesses: My latest feature for The Bold Italic on chefs, bartenders and industry folk working creative collaborations and new businesses in pandemic.
— Distiller Bottle Column: Unique canned cocktails from a Copenhagen distiller. Apple brandy from New Hampshire. Small production Cognac. Australian whisky. Italian vodka. 10 spirits reviewed.
— Healdsburg’s Visionary Women: In this Sonoma County town, a high concentration of Healdsburg’s best restaurants, boutique hotels, winemakers and distillers and restaurants are female.

Hunting for Real Barbecue in the Bay Area

by Virginia Miller on August 13, 2020 in Top Tastes

In my latest article for The Bold Italic: On hunting for real barbecue in the Bay Area, a passion and struggle for someone who has done multiple BBQ research road trips across the U.S. over the past 15 years.

As Restaurants & Bars Struggle, Bay Area Chefs & Bartenders Create a New Wave of Food Businesses

by Virginia Miller on August 8, 2020 in Top Tastes

In my latest article for The Bold Italic, Dining rooms are out. Pancake pop-ups, breakfast in bed, and meal kits are in. I cover chefs, bar managers, food and drink industry who are creatively experimenting with other revenue streams and projects outside of restaurants and bars:

DISTILLER Bottle Column: July 2020

by Virginia Miller on August 8, 2020 in Imbiber

Published August 2020 at Distiller Magazine, my bottle column covers trends and reviews international spirits here, with taste ratings:

August 1, 2020

by Virginia Miller on August 1, 2020 in Intro Letter

This Issue:
— Spacious Outdoor Patios in San Francisco: Five standout restaurants doing right by outdoor dining, with longstanding patios and rooftops or new gardens, converted parking lots and beer gardens.
—July’s 10 SF Bay Area Restaurants for Outdoor Dining, Takeout or Delivery: Covering a range of cuisines and fast casual to mid-range, as well as Oakland to Napa. Here you’ll find my recommends for Jamaican, Vietnamese, Korean, Middle Eastern, New American and beyond.

July’s 10 Top SF Bay Area Restaurants

by Virginia Miller on August 1, 2020 in Top Tastes

My dining column at print and online magazine, Bob Cut, covers standout newcomers and longtimers we want to keep supporting. During shelter-in-place pandemic times, I cover outdoor dining, takeout and delivery restaurants: Read more →

Spacious Outdoor Patios in San Francisco

by Virginia Miller on August 1, 2020 in Top Tastes

In my latest article for The Bold Italic, I cover 5 standout restaurants doing right by outdoor dining, whether with longstanding patios and rooftops or new gardens, converted parking lots and beer gardens…

July 15, 2020

by Virginia Miller on July 15, 2020 in Intro Letter

— The Best SF Takeout to Celebrate a Special Occasion: Five standout upscale restaurants doing special takeout/delivery in pandemic times, from cheese and champagne tastings, or nigiri sushi feasts to upscale but “real deal” BBQ.
— June’s 10 SF Bay Area Restaurants for Outdoor Dining, Takeout or Delivery: 10 standouts around the Bay Area doing takeout/delivery or outdoor dining, from Jamaican to Mexican vegan, Modern Jewish to old school “red sauce” American-Italian, hip spots to OG classics.
— DISTILLER Bottle Column: This month’s 10 bottle/spirits reviews include organic Cognac, rhum agricole, rock ‘n rye, American fernet, American single malt, gin, amaro and aquavit.

The Best SF Takeout to Celebrate a Special Occasion

by Virginia Miller on July 11, 2020 in Top Tastes

I cover 5 standout upscale restaurants, many of The World’s 50 Best/Michelin-starred level, who are doing special or more casual takeout and delivery in pandemic times. Some offer cheese and champagne tastings, or nigiri sushi feasts or upscale but “real deal” BBQ. Each is stellar and ideal for those celebratory moments that still keep coming in our lives even while sheltering in — or when we need a pampering splurge:

June’s 10 SF Bay Area Restaurants for Outdoor Dining, Takeout or Delivery

by Virginia Miller on July 10, 2020 in Top Tastes

My dining column at print and online magazine, Bob Cut — column details and my philosophy here — covers standout newcomers and longtimers we want to keep supporting. During shelter-in-place pandemic times, I cover outdoor dining, takeout and delivery restaurants: