— 6 New Chefs Reinvigorating Bay Area Restaurants: 6 restaurants worth revisiting with fresh menus and new chefs.
— April Openings: From upscale Chinese-SF cuisine to lush burgers — and on to two stellar new cocktail havens — which new openings are worth visiting… and why.
— March Openings: Exquisite nigiri tasting menus and Indian street food paired with wine — my top two openings of the month.
This is a preview of a regular column that will be part of the national Table8 blog we are about to launch this Spring — I will cover the Bay Area and am national editor over all cities/writers. With the constant flush of new openings in this queen of dining cities — and so many stellar newcomers — it becomes quite… Read more →
My article was first published here on our national Table8 blog where I am national editor. The key openings of April are: Mister Jiu’s, ‘aina, Wes Burger, Wildhawk, Horsefeather, The Lodge on Haight, Bar San Pancho, Barbary Coast Gastropub. The Lodge is great for affordable, order-at-the-counter eats in the Lower Haight and I’ll save ‘aina for May since it just… Read more →
My article was first published here on our national Table8 blog where I am national editor. The top openings of March are: Joe’s of Westlake (soft opened at the end of February — I will visit soon), Indian Paradox, Pagan Idol (more on one of the most fun new bars in SF here), Waxman’s. Here are my top pick and why… Read more →
This issue:
— Top 5 Bay Area Dishes: From fried chicken madeleines to spam musubi lettuce wraps, my top dishes now.
— Weekending on the Russian River in Guerneville
— Inside Michael Mina’s Revolving Kitchen: My latest feature & interviews at Food Republic.
Per usual, I’ve been dining up a storm at many a newcomer, covered in my top openings and standout dishes of March. In addition, here are my five top tastes from three of SF’s best restaurants, one new bar menu and one pop-up dinner preview of an upcoming restaurant. 1. RICH TABLE’S FRIED CHICKEN MADELEINES Since opening in 2012, Evan… Read more →
A weekend in Guerneville always feels like a real “escape”, under towering redwoods, along the Russian River with the Pacific Ocean just over the mountain crest (more on past visits here). A leisurely stroll — or hardcore hike — through the stunning Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve while in the area is a must. Driving the rough, single lane road… Read more →
This article was first published here at Food Republic on April 8, 2016. “There are two messages I wanted to send all our guests,” says chef Vikrant Bhasin as he delivers a platter of Kashmiri kofta (meatballs made from local lamb) brushed with mustard oil. “One, this is home-cooked food. Second, this is the food available on the streets of India… Read more →
— Top 7 Cocktails of the Month: From a magical new Tiki bar to Indian-inspired cocktails — what is worth drinking now.
— 5 New Spirits: Tasting Polugar (“Russian bread wine”), pisco, cachaca, Irish whiskey and rum.
— My Top 3 Whiskies at Whiskies of the World 2016: From Scotch to whiskey blended and finished in Berkeley.
Here are the 7 standout cocktails and new bars of the month I’ve been tasting around the Bay Area. 1. Pagan Idol‘s Bird of Paradise or Witch Doctor The most fun new bar of the month (and year so far?) is easily Pagan Idol from the prolific Future Bars team (Bourbon & Branch, Rickhouse, Local Edition, Tradition and so on),… Read more →