The LINE Hotel is an uber-hip line of boutique hotels only in LA, DC, Austin and San Francisco, with the latest sleek LINE Hotel SF opened August 2022 on Market and Turk Streets next to the Warfield. The good news for food and drink lovers is that the hotel also houses restaurants overseen by talented chef Joe Hou and bar master and beverage consultant Danny Louie, who I’ve written about for a good decade, with his unique and oh-so-SF cocktail artistry. Read more →
San Francisco’s Tenderloin has long been a key neighborhood for Vietnamese food, its western blocks dubbed Little Saigon. Head out to the entire half of the city that includes the Richmond, Sunset and Parkside districts and you have an array of Vietnamese restaurants, banh mi shops, pho houses and the like. But there’s nothing quite like new Bodega, from its sleek, modern diner decor to cocktails with Vietnamese food… Read more →
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 →
These six newcomers (or new menus) cover the gamut, from the ultimate Korean barbecue to Mexican brunch in your PJs, if you wish. Alongside this month’s full restaurant reviews — Shuggie’s Trash Pie + Natural Wine, Bansang, Cole Valley Tavern, The Madrigal — these six are worth visiting (as always, I’ve vetted, visited and ordered from each place reviewed): Read more →
Opening a more upscale, untried concept on a block that already holds three Michelin-starred restaurants — State Bird Provisions, The Progress and Avery — is ambitious, to say the least. When it is one that needs tightening up, as brand new Bansang does, it’s even riskier. But in its initial soft opening month of May (opening the tail end of April 2022), Bansang’s promise is all on the plate. Read more →
Call Pim the Queen of modern Thai food. Named on Esquire’s shortlist of Best New Restaurants in America after opening in 2019, Nari’s chef/owner Pim Techamuanvivit is recently one of five final nominees for Best Chef: California at this year’s upcoming James Beard Awards… Most notably, all five California chef finalists this year are AAPI… two are Thai women. Read more →
From the crew behind beloved Liholiho Yacht Club comes another original, one-of-a-kind restaurant centered around tropical rooftop escape vibes and core values that drive all they do.
From kosher Israeli takeout to a new Korean grocer, these five new restaurants are worth dining at now”
This review features brand new Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant and modern Filipino cuisine destination, Abacá, from celebrated chef Francis Ang of Pinoy Heritage and drinks by renowned bartender/owner Kevin Diedrich of PCH and Kona’s Street Market.
My weekly restaurant review for The Bold Italic, published September 8, 2021, covers a rarity in a region rife with superb, authentic Asian food in every category: excellent Indonesian food. This superb newcomer takes us to Redwood City: