NOVELA, SoMa (662 Mission St. between New Montgomery and Annie Streets, 415-896-6500) Enter lounge-like Novela (“novel” in Spanish), a new book themed bar and lounge in SoMa, and you are swept into an elegant-yet-comfortable respite in a space designed by Jacek Ostoya (who designed nearby Harlot). Black and white colors represent ink and paper in dramatic floor tile, gold accents and lighting evoke gold… Read more →
RANGE, Mission (842 Valencia St. between 19th & 20th, 415-282-8283) Range has been one of the Mission’s great restaurants with strong wine list and stellar cocktails since opening in 2005. Maintaining its quality across the board, they have retained staff for years – many since opening – a rarity in the restaurant/bar business. On July 10th, they launch a new concept.… Read more →
Coming from one who hits virtually every new opening in San Francisco, and is constantly exploring new and established places globally, I weary of the “same old concept”, even as I am engaged by genuine passion no matter the concept. These two recent previews of restaurants slated to open this summer have me particularly expectant. Both step with a firm… Read more →
Chef powerhouse Charles Phan’s New Orleans-influenced Southern food and bourbon bar duo opened mid-March with similar menus focused on New Orleans-style bar snacks and menus run by the ever-talented Erik Adkins, who oversees cocktail bars at every Phan restaurant. Both are already destination bars in terms of quality and setting and Hard Water is fast becoming one of the great… Read more →
Cocktails and food: each of these four locations – one brand new, three established – boast noteworthy cocktails – and most are excellent restaurants. Here’s what’s making an impression in recent weeks… ALCHEMIST, SoMa/South Beach (679 3rd St. between Brannan & Townsend; 415-746-9968) Opened by Kinson Lau (Gitane) and Phil Chen, Alchemist, upstairs in a wood-floored, roomy space, recalls LA… Read more →
In my endless treks ’round the city for the best partnerships of drink and food, here are a few notable current menu offerings: COMSTOCK SALOON, North Beach (155 Columbus Ave. at Pacific, 415-617-0071) www.comstocksaloon.com Easily one of our city’s great bars, Comstock Saloon maintains historical reverence to SF’s Barbary Coast days without being stuffy. Old World decor, live jazz and… Read more →
Though Trick Dog is the just-opened hot cocktail/food destination of the moment (my my early word here), slipping in at the bar at these three restaurants, ranging from elegant to festive, offers some of SF’s best cocktails with incredible food. It’s impossible to get a reservation at Rich Table, one of the most buzzed about restaurants in the country right now, but I… Read more →
TRICK DOG, 3010 20th Street at Florida, 415-471-2999, open 3pm-2am daily (brunch coming soon) The Bon Vivants (Josh Harris, Scott Baird, Jason Henton) need little introduction in the drink world, from humanitarian work with their Pig & Punch events (they’re featured in the Jan./Feb. 2013 issue of Imbibe magazine) to their unforgettable Bon Vivants’ parties. Last Sunday, I walked through… Read more →
A celebratory or comforting drink is just what we crave at this time of year. With an excellent bite? Even better. Here’s a few of the most noteworthy drinks, winter cocktail menus and dishes in SF as 2012 passes into 2013. AME, SoMa (689 Mission St. at 3rd St. in the St. Regis Hotel, 415-284-4040) It’s not a cocktail, and… Read more →
Rum bears a rough and tumble history, whether as the Royal Navy’s spirit of choice, or on a grim note, benefiting from the slave trade. Despite its dark days, rum thrives as the spirit of the Caribbean where, along with Latin America, the majority of the world’s rum is produced. Legend swirls throughout rum’s history, as with the story of… Read more →