Chef Mat Schuster opened Canela Bistro & Wine Bar in 2011 on ever-bustling Market Street in the heart of the Castro. I remember those early days when Canela was immediately a cozy, inviting neighborhood Spanish restaurant. This was before still-excellent Spanish spots like Bellota opened in 2016. And since, we’ve lost some of our best Spanish go-tos like Contigo and Barcino. Read more →
My review of La Bande at the SF Proper Hotel from chef Jason Fox and team — think “real deal” Spanish tapas, pinxtos and more but with sleek Art Deco vibes.
My latest article for The Bold Italic, published June 25, 2021 (my regular Bold Italic articles here), covers 5 of the Bay Area’s best queer-run restaurants and cafes:
My dining column in Bob Cut magazine covers standout newcomers and longtimers worth supporting.
I’m covering outdoor and indoor dining, takeout and delivery restaurants, all of which I’ve vetted, visited or ordered from. Here are this month’s 10 standouts: Read more →
My dining column at print and online magazine, Bob Cut — column details and my philosophy here; last month’s column here — covers standout newcomers and longtimers we want to keep supporting. During pandemic, 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 dining column at print and online magazine, Bob Cut — column details and my philosophy here — covers both standout newcomers and longtimers we want to keep supporting.
During shelter-in-place pandemic times, the column is in takeout/delivery mode:
My latest at Time Out covers the playful new Pawn Shop, feeling plucked from Miami, Latin America or Europe — and drawing a bit of early controversy for its “tone deaf” themed storefront. But once inside, it’s a party of a tapas wine bar and restaurant that fills a unique niche. My article here. Enter a faux pawn shop storefront on dodgy 6th… Read more →
The first of my weekly Time Out column digs into four top Bay Area Spanish restaurants, from a vibrant newcomer (Barcino), to two longtime greats (Contigo, Canela), to one downtown Napa treasure (La Taberna)… No over medication – no erection problem at all Brush Your Teeth Most of us are not aware of that there is no need of taking… Read more →
This article was first published here at Table8 where I am national editor. The 10 key openings of May are Itani Ramen in Oakland, Mac Daddy, Fenix, Homage, Sushi Hashiri, Popsons, Orson’s Belly, Bellota, Sababa and Laszlo’s reopening. While there are strengths at each — all but one of which I’ve visited — here are my top three newcomers… and… Read more →
Though SF has been a pioneering dining city for decades longer than the 15 years I’ve lived here — and I’ve been schooled on what food can be since the moment I moved here — 2016 started off with an almost ridiculously excellent eating month. More than half of these restaurants either opened January or in recent months, while a… Read more →