Chotto Matte’s patio view. Photo by Virginia Miller. Two years in the making, one of San Francisco’s largest openings in years is 14,000 square foot Peruvian restaurant, Chotto Matte, debuting to much fanfare October 21, 2023. The rooftop restaurant with wraparound outdoor terrace and massive indoor space running from plant-lined bar and DJ lounge to massive dining room, could easily be… Read more →
Prik Hom’s miang grilled shrimp. Photo by Virginia Miller. These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from cocktail havens to SF’s first Georgian restaurant. Alongside October’s full restaurant reviews — SSAL (Michelin-starred Korean), Molti Amici in Healdsburg, modern Turkish Dalida in the Presidio, Absinthe turns 25, all-day Mexican breakfasts and homey meals at El Mil Amores — these five are also worth visiting, with… Read more →
Bar Sprezzatura’s heirloom tomato. Photo by Virginia Miller. These newcomers or new menus cover the gamut, from a new pie shop to a seductive Venetian Italian destination. Alongside my full restaurant reviews this month — Little Shucker, Matty’s Old Fashioned, where to eat with kids, El Mil Amores, Outside Lands top 7 tastes — these five spots are also worth visiting, with last month’s standouts… Read more →
Che Fico’s Ode to Judy Rodgers pizza. Photo Virginia Miller. Opening March 2018 and my #3 opening of the year in 2018, Che Fico has been a special pizza, pasta and house charcuterie haven in a city silly with the best in the nation in each of those categories. But despite our plethora of world-class pizza and pasta in San Francisco… Read more →
Chasing Sage‘s hummus olive oil tart. Photo by Virginia Miller. Charleston’s Colonial-era architecture with colorful Caribbean influence in soothing blues, pinks and yellows is one-of-a-kind. The small, walkable city has grown greatly in notable restaurants and bars the 16 years I’ve been visiting, far beyond its size in terms of the quality-to-size ratio. Its palmetto-lined streets are like stepping back in… Read more →
Gao Viet Kitchen’s bo tai chanh (beef carpaccio). Photo by Virginia Miller. Since 2018, Gao Viet Kitchen & Bar has been a San Mateo Vietnamese favorite with long waitlists, no reservations and a 90 minute table limit during peak times. It’s also home to arguably the most expensive bowl of pho: $100 Phozilla with the cheeky menu tagline of “Nobody should… Read more →
The Umstead Hotel & Spa, Cary, NC. Photo by Virginia Miller. Though I have been to Charleston over four times the past 16 years, I hadn’t been back to North Carolina in 16 years, when I took my first (of multiple) two week road trip across the Deep South to study my barbecue styles. North Carolina is famed for BBQ and… Read more →
Coho’s Dungeness crab noodles. Photo by Virginia Miller. No one was more surprised than me to find a standout new restaurant, one even worth crossing the bridge for, in sleepy, idyllic Mill Valley. Marin County is infamously talked about amongst many of my industry and food obsessed colleagues as the one subpar food county in all the Bay Area. Despite Marin’s… Read more →
View from our deck at el Prado, Palo Alto. Photo by Virginia Miller. COME SEE OUR NEW HOME — The Bold Italic has a new home online, and this story has moved! Read it here: https://www.thebolditalic.com/staycation-palo-alto-a-spanish-themed-hotel-two-newer-restaurants From recent staycations in the Silicon Valley town of Sunnyvale to the coast in Half Moon Bay, for 21 years I’ve researched and written of… Read more →
Juniper bakery’s choux. Photo by Virginia Miller. COME SEE OUR NEW HOME — The Bold Italic has a new home online, and this story has moved! Read it here: https://www.thebolditalic.com/two-new-bakeries-already-set-to-stand-among-the-bays-best-juniper-starter-bakery Few U.S. cities have a fraction of the world class bakeries that line San Francisco, a city that has led the baking renaissance of the past 20 plus years via Tartine… Read more →