The notable restaurant openings of April were Hitachino Beer & Wagyu (soft opening in March, officially open in April), Mestiza Taqueria (at the end of March), Black Jet Baking Company and Kagawa-Ya Udon Noodle Co. in SF. Kagawa-Ya is fun, fast-casual Sanuki-style udon (from Japan’s Kagawa Prefecture, an area known for having hundreds of udon houses with a distinctive square shape… Read more →
Covering the 11 hottest cocktails of the month around the US at Liquor.com, I also am talking tequila this May. Here are 11 bars around North America (click on each for the featured cocktail) making standout tequila cocktails now: Read more →
West Maui is a magical place of rainbows and coves teeming with sea turtles (in Napili Bay), which I have covered in years’ past here. Heading back to West Maui this past October for the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival was as reviving a Hawaii trip as ever. Though I attend hundreds of food and drink events, this one was… Read more →
This issue:
— Top 11 National Cocktails of the Month: From Oklahoma City to Kansas City, Napa to SF, here is what’s standing out at bars nationwide now.
— Memphis Love: Don’t worry, I talk BBQ. But I also have a few other key favorites to share with you in this special Southern city alive with music and ‘que.
— Hotel of the Month: One of the most restorative, restful towns, settings and resorts in the world is found on the remote side of Maui.
— Where to Eat in Hana, Maui: On this removed side of Maui, it’s mostly about food trucks — but also a chocolate plantation and an organic farm growing fruits you’ve never heard of.
Covering the 11 hottest cocktails of the month around the US at Liquor.com, you’ll find my bar and drink recommends this month at these bars (click on each for the featured cocktail): Springtime means bartenders are playing with shiso, jalapeno, mango and crème de coconut but also with year-round elements like funky-elegant rancio sec wine or silky lemon oils. Whether… Read more →
No question: Memphis a true music lover’s mecca. From the humble storefront of Sun Records, the recording studio that changed the world, to the neon Stax sign, housing a great museum in the former studio home of soul, it’s a thrill visiting these nondescript buildings where rock and roll and soul were essentially born to go out into the world.… Read more →
Locals say the remote eastern side of Maui is the way all of Hawaii was 50 years ago. Accessible only by the occasionally terrifying Road to Hana, we drove the entire harrowing road (both north and south), despite being washed out by intense rains in multiple parts — like Hilo on the Big Island, this is the rainy, lush side… Read more →
Locals say the remote eastern side of Maui is the way all of Hawaii was 50 years ago. Accessible only by the occasionally terrifying Road to Hana, we drove the entire harrowing road (both north and south), despite being washed out by intense rains in multiple parts — like Hilo on the Big Island, this is the rainy, lush side… Read more →
This issue:
— Top 3 New Restaurants of the Month: Maybe the most exciting and ambitious Chinese restaurant/bar/market concept… ever. A cocktail bar with killer food. Affordable Cuban food.
— Why Oxford, Mississippi, Is a Food & Literature Lovers’ Town
— Top 5 Whiskies from Whiskies of the World 2017: Another year of hundreds of whiskies from around the globe on a sternwheeler in the Bay, with standouts from India to Scotland, US to Japan.
— Hotel of the Month: Four Seasons Silicon Valley looks like a corporate office building, but here’s why it’s special, from a new cafe and remodel to impeccable pastas and s’mores by the pool.
March (finally) brought the ambitious, long-anticipated China Live to Chinatown (which I wrote about numerous times from Food Republic to Zagat). The month also delivered another major beer restaurant: Hitachino Beer & Wagyu (in its soft opening mode so will be in consideration for top openings of April as it officially “opens”), and cocktail-centric restaurant, The Douglas Room. Other notable March… Read more →