Published in the Fall 2024 print issue of Distiller Magazine:
— 10 of Chicago’s best bars Read more →

Published in the Fall 2024 print issue of Distiller Magazine:
— 10 of Chicago’s best bars Read more →
Summer is at its apex in August with a wealth of notable new and longtime bars around San Francisco. Here are six under-the-radar bars to visit now, ranging from a reborn dive bar to craft Peruvian cocktails. Read more →
Published in American Whiskey Magazine Spring 2024 in the print issue, a glimpse of the article: Read more →
Since 1928, San Francisco has sparkled and shimmered from the 21st floor of the Beacon Grand, where the iconic Starlite bar was recently reborn this winter. Formerly the historic Sir Francis Drake, the hotel underwent a massive remodel not long ago, then everyone got invited to a big reveal of the new Starlite in late January. Read more →
Many a happy night was spent at Broken Record over a decade ago with my friends and family, playing pool, sipping a dram from their affordable whiskey list, and filling up on excellent bar food. After closing in September 2022, I couldn’t have predicted that friends Ethan Terry and Greg Quinn would end up taking over the space and opening The Halfway Club, their dream long in the making. Read more →
San Francisco has long been rife with world’s best cocktail bars: it was one of three cities, alongside New York and New Orleans, that introduced the world to cocktails in the 1800s, after all. Then SF and NYC led the cocktail renaissance of the past three decades.
Many of these bars also serve killer food. While bars like True Laurel and The Snug are shining examples of this combo, there’s a recent wave of new bars where food and drink shine together, but the vibe is fully bar versus restaurant. Three of the most interesting newcomers? Movida, Bar Gemini, and Stoa. Read more →
From one of the key cities that birthed cocktails to the world in the 1800s, San Francisco has no end of hundreds of stellar bars with stellar food. We welcome a new one from a beloved industry bartender and standout new menus at two bars we already love, all three with quality food, too. Read more →
These new spots or new menus cover the gamut, from Filipino-Mexican to Peruvian. Alongside my full restaurant reviews this month, these eight (and a bonus 9th bar) are well worth visiting. Last month’s standouts are here (as always, I’ve personally vetted, visited or ordered from each place reviewed): Read more →
A few elements must align to come into one’s own voice and it’s never a one-time deal but an ongoing evolution. Maturity, experience and time are the oft-discounted but key factors to holistic integration for those pursuing it. However, other crucial pieces include timing and the right platform/s from which to express one’s voice…
Normally, this Friday review is devoted to restaurants: and both these new bars serve food, so we’ll get into that. But this week, it’s more about drink menus on par with great food and about two women coming into their voice on their current menus: Read more →
This issue of Gin Magazine, my Bar Guide to 10 top bars in Hawaii’s biggest city, Honolulu, on the island of Oahu.