August was quite a month for notable new openings from Oakland to SF, including restaurants like The Keystone in the Mosser Hotel (my Zagat feature on the opening here). I also visited months-old spots, like the solid-though-not-overwhelming Buttermilk Southern Kitchen, or savored old school torta comfort (a steal with massive tortas) at Tortas Boos Voni. On the cheap eats front,… Read more →
In addition to plates from the Mugaritz chef from Spain cooking at Coi for one night only, here are my top 10 July dishes and new openings, some newcomers, some established spots. 1. Omakase’s Omakase Just open in June, Omakase is another in that blessedly growing category of Japan-esque sushi experiences in SF: tasting menus prepared with reverent precision, heavy… Read more →
Here are my top 10 June dishes and new openings, some newcomers, some established spots. 1. Saison’s Special Nigiri Menu Joshua Skenes’ Saison is known the world over for endless accolades and some of the priciest meals in the nation. Now, there is a restaurant-within-a-restaurant, a hidden dining room that is a collaboration between Skenes and Chef Jiro Lin. Lin… Read more →
These 5 spots are new or under-the-radar and though you can sit down/eat-in at all of them — and Burma Love, in particular, has a cool dining room and bar — they have all been doing me right for take-out. 1. Korean: Jin Mi Korean Near Civic Center on a rough-and-tumble block of Golden Gate Ave., Jin Mi Korean is… Read more →
New Chefs, New Menus, New Openings February has rushed right past in a blur. And with it, three openings of note. Mourad opened in the last couple days of January so I am including it among February’s top openings: my Zagat feature article on Mourad here. AL’s Place, from a chef whose cooking I’ve long missed, opened early in the… Read more →
New Chefs, New Menus My Zagat take on new menus from brand new chefs at Gather in Berkeley and Marla Bakery in SF. New Openings of the Month Starting the new year off with a bang, there is a lot of promise at Californios (initial Zagat First Look here), a creative, high end-but-reasonably-priced tasting menu with Mexican influences in an… Read more →
From my 15 articles/posts a week as Zagat Editor, I summarize and link to just some coverage highlights here – you can sign up for Zagat’s weekly newsletter for highlights here and follow along on Twitter @ZagatSF, where I post daily. As I have been for over a decade, I’m on the ground daily looking for early standouts at each… Read more →
From my 15 articles/posts a week as Zagat Editor, I summarize and link to just some coverage highlights here – you can sign up for Zagat’s weekly newsletter for highlights here and follow along on Twitter @ZagatSF, where I post daily. As I have been for over a decade, I’m on the ground daily looking for early standouts at each… Read more →
KIN KHAO, Union Square (55 Cyril Magnin St. at the corner of Ellis and Mason in Parc 55 Hotel, 415-362-7456) Back in 1998-1999 I spent two months in Thailand – and another in Vietnam – working in orphanages and traveling around both countries. Needless to say, it was a life-altering three months, particularly during a far less touristy time in… Read more →
PRUBECHU, 2487 Mission St. between 24th & 25th, 415-952-3654 Merely open two and a half months, Prubechu – meaning “you’re welcome” – is easily the tasting menu steal in the city. For merely $40, it’s an imaginative five courses touched with fine dining flair in an uber-casual setting. As the city’s only Chamorro (Guamanian) restaurant, the island breezes of Guam… Read more →