Eos & Nyx mezze/dips. Photo by Virginia Miller. For 24 years, I’ve been exploring and writing about the Bay Area’s Peninsula — including but not minimized to the moniker Silicon Valley. San Mateo County can suffer from suburban malaise and mediocrity when it comes to restaurant standards, especially compared to the dense, world-class glories of nearby San Francisco. But this… Read more →
From Spanish and Cal-French newcomers to a foodie, cocktail and coffee geek’s hotel… where to eat, drink and stay in San Mateo County now… Read more →
From modern Turkish or Indian to Italian x2 (including alpine Germanic-Italian), where to eat in San Mateo County now… Read more →
When I first dined at Meyhouse in Sunnyvale in 2019 not long after it opened, it was the best Turkish restaurant I’d been to in the West. So when I heard they were opening their second, more elegant Palo Alto location, I was “in,” despite the 45-ish minute drive there and back from San Francisco. As often happens, the opening was delayed, but Meyhouse finally debuted August 9, 2023, in a massive space with open air windows overlooking walkable downtown Palo Alto. Read more →
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 hotels, food and drink across the Peninsula. The Bay Area’s “south Bay” is yet another rich and diverse county in our wonderland of NorCal food.
My 10 Time Out dining recommends in Palo Alto still stand — as does a totally different getaway off the 101 freeway in Palo Alto, Four Seasons Silicon Valley. But here are three key newcomers in dining and a boutique hotel worth a local getaway. Read more →
My dining column at print and online magazine, Bob Cut — column details and my philosophy here and last month’s column here— covers standout newcomers and longtimers we want to keep supporting. During pandemic times, I’m covering outdoor dining, takeout and delivery restaurants, all of which I’ve vetted, visited or ordered from, choosing the standouts: Read more →
My latest article for The Bold Italic, published October 9, 2020 (my regular Bold Italic articles here), covers five of the best parklet/patio outdoor dining spots in the city now:
Published at Where Traveler (my other Where articles here) in May 2019, my article on 6 “secret,” under-the-radar restaurants – from fine dining to order-at-the-counter — in the South Bay/Peninsula. Treasures in Turkish-Antolian, Georgian, South Indian, Oaxacan, Japanese and Modern Korean food:
In my latest Time Out column, Palo Alto has long been centered around the great Stanford University and world-changing companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Pinterest and PayPal. With its suburban, college town vibe and heavy dose of chains and mediocre eats lining University Avenue, it’s not exactly been a food destination. But Palo Alto has its gems… if you know where… Read more →
Covering the 11 top gin cocktails of the month around the country at Liquor.com, you’ll find my top national drinks now at these bars/restaurants (click on each for the featured cocktail): As one of the greatest, far-reaching spirits in history, gin is worth drinking any day of the year. But spring seems particularly suited to its green herbaceousness, its citrus-driven… Read more →