• Viader is among the finer wines in Napa… and the place to go if you can’t stand California wines and remain married to old world, French sensibilities. Tucked up in the hills of Deer Park (between St. Helena and Calistoga), it’s a wonderland of mossy oaks and stunning vistas. Last month, founder, Delia Viader’s, daughter took my small group… Read more →
Top Tastes, rather than a list of all-time favorites (another thing altogether), is highlights of the best things I’ve been eating since my last newsletter, often from new openings. Many don’t make the cut, being a revisit previously written about or simply not as stand-out as dishes mentioned. MID-RANGE RESTAURANTS • has a new chef de cuisine, Sophiane Benaouda, from… Read more →
Even when times are tight, we’ve got to eat. There have been a slew of revisits, cheap eats and comfort food keeping me going lately, like Town Hall’s new BBQ-out-back lunch (ribs, sausages, po boys), ever lovable Phat Philly cheesesteaks, maki at Sushi Zen, Belgian waffles at Civic Center Farmer’s Market, always heroic sandwiches at Morty’s (jury duty had to… Read more →
There is no way to quite do the magical dining experience that is CYRUS justice. Much has already been written about one of the highest-rated restaurants in the nation, and I’ve been dying to go since it opened. The Renaissance Man made it my birthday dinner surprise (we went the weekend before since my birthday is actually Christmas Day). It… Read more →
Just in time for Fall, when I continue to dive into my beloved classic country albums (my ultimate hero, Cash, but also Hank Williams, Dolly, George Jones, Loretta, Waylon, etc…), I get nostalgic for hearty BBQ and roots music. There are a number of us in a city as diverse as San Francisco who were born or grew up in places like Oklahoma (my birthplace, before… Read more →