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 →
Rooftop bars are proliferating in San Francisco these days… brand new Cavaña just opened late January 2023 on the 17th floor of the LUMA Hotel San Francisco. A stones’ throw from the SF Giants’ Oracle Park, you can hear the ballpark (and at times, concerts) din buzzing nearby as you take in stunning city views of blazing sunsets behind Twin Peaks and the Sutro Tower from the south patio with outdoor bar, to the more chill, fireside glow of downtown SF and the Bay Bridge on Cavaña’s north and east sides. 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.
My fall 2021 return to Los Angeles, the region I partly grew up in and spent over 12 years of my youth and, later, young adulthood living in was a busy one. I visited over 35 places, from cafes and coffee roasters, to restaurants and eateries — like pre-pandemic times. While the bar scene was clearly struggling on the service end even more than restaurants were, restaurants were coming back to life.
Here’s the good, the bad and the damn delicious: Read more →
These six newer spots include two Brazilian go-tos, a winning bottle shop and arcade/game bar with food (as always, I’ve vetted, visited or ordered from every restaurant reviewed here):
Each of these five bars are ideal for a holiday sip as they are for imbibing year round (and most serve quality eats, too). Per usual: I’ve vetted, visited, or ordered from each of these spots reviewed: Read more →
In the Summer 2021 print issue of Distiller Magazine: My article on 10 of Louisville’s best bars below (online here) Louisville and Kentucky’s distilling and drink evolution (linked to here) My interview with bar manager/owner Olivia Rose Griffin of the Limbo and Riot Cafe below (online here) My interview with Jeptha Creed distiller Joyce Nethery below (online here) BARS FEATURED:—Meta, Butchertown… Read more →
In the Winter 2020-2021 print issue of Distiller Magazine:
My article on 10 of the world’s best bars and how they are surviving and recreating in pandemic