Category: restaurant review

review: sanglant, mais pas bleu…

I’m fairly certain I was whining about the demise of the daringly bloody roast beef sandwich when chuckeats told me about the one at Il Cane Rosso, Daniel Patterson’s walk-up eatery in the Ferry Marketplace in San Francisco.  It could be a quick lunch option, he suggested. We made it happen.

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review: sanglant, mais pas bleu…

I’m fairly certain I was whining about the demise of the daringly bloody roast beef sandwich when chuckeats told me about the one at Il Cane Rosso, Daniel Patterson’s walk-up eatery in the Ferry Marketplace in San Francisco.  It could be a quick lunch option, he suggested. We made it happen.

Continue

review: timeless…

  Why doesn’t piperade get more playtime among the food cognoscenti? Surely, it’s not the shiniest new toy on the block – Gerald Hirigoyen, who was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs in 1994, opened this “California Basque” restaurant at the foot of Telegraph Hill with his wife in 2002. But eight […]

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review: timeless…

  Why doesn’t piperade get more playtime among the food cognoscenti? Surely, it’s not the shiniest new toy on the block – Gerald Hirigoyen, who was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs in 1994, opened this “California Basque” restaurant at the foot of Telegraph Hill with his wife in 2002. But eight […]

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review: kb6…

Kasparov, Euwe, Capablanca, and Spassky – none of them have occupied a more magnificent “KB6” than I did recently on the seventh floor of the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago. A 2-inch square of black anywhere else in the world, “KB6” at Avenues is a swivel-top throne, last in a row of six (thus, aptly coded […]

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review: kb6…

Kasparov, Euwe, Capablanca, and Spassky – none of them have occupied a more magnificent “KB6” than I did recently on the seventh floor of the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago. A 2-inch square of black anywhere else in the world, “KB6” at Avenues is a swivel-top throne, last in a row of six (thus, aptly coded […]

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review: syzygy…

It bears noting that, of the more than a half dozen times I’ve visited San Francisco, my last three trips to the Bay Area have shared the same primary purpose: Manresa. Sure, there were other noteworthy restaurants scheduled into those trips that might otherwise warrant a trip of their own: The French Laundry, ubuntu, Chez […]

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review: syzygy…

It bears noting that, of the more than a half dozen times I’ve visited San Francisco, my last three trips to the Bay Area have shared the same primary purpose: Manresa. Sure, there were other noteworthy restaurants scheduled into those trips that might otherwise warrant a trip of their own: The French Laundry, ubuntu, Chez […]

Continue

review: thunder out of the gate…

commis shot out of the gate with a thunderclap.* James Syhabout opened this tiny, tiny restaurant on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, California in June of 2009.  Four months later, it earned its first Michelin star, and half a year after that, Syhabout was named one of Food + Wine’s Best New Chefs. Barely opened for […]

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review: thunder out of the gate…

commis shot out of the gate with a thunderclap.* James Syhabout opened this tiny, tiny restaurant on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, California in June of 2009.  Four months later, it earned its first Michelin star, and half a year after that, Syhabout was named one of Food + Wine’s Best New Chefs. Barely opened for […]

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review: figs on a plate…

After David Chang’s “Fig Gate” incident, it’s hard to order a plate of figs with a straight face. But, I did – in San Francisco, naturally. And, like everything else I had at Zuni Café that day, they were fantastic.  So was the cluster of Zante grapes that accompanied them. Sweet as candy, the pea-sized […]

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review: figs on a plate…

After David Chang’s “Fig Gate” incident, it’s hard to order a plate of figs with a straight face. But, I did – in San Francisco, naturally. And, like everything else I had at Zuni Café that day, they were fantastic.  So was the cluster of Zante grapes that accompanied them. Sweet as candy, the pea-sized […]

Continue

review: the asian laundry…

“You’ll feel like you’ve left the city,” someone told me when describing their experience at benu. I didn’t understand what he meant by it then, but I understand it now. You’ll see benu’s kitchen through the big, picture-windows on a quiet stretch of Hawthorne Street in San Francisco’s SoMa district.  If you arrive after nightfall, […]

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review: the asian laundry…

“You’ll feel like you’ve left the city,” someone told me when describing their experience at benu. I didn’t understand what he meant by it then, but I understand it now. You’ll see benu’s kitchen through the big, picture-windows on a quiet stretch of Hawthorne Street in San Francisco’s SoMa district.  If you arrive after nightfall, […]

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review: personality, with a side of perfection…

The bread fairy always calls thrice at The French Laundry. First, arrives a beautifully glazed brioche bun. It’s got Lana Turner’s curves with the coloring of Sophia Loren after a summer on the Riviera. Then, a basket of mini baguettes and whole-grain wonders, all of which I overlooked in favor of the pretzel roll with […]

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review: personality, with a side of perfection…

The bread fairy always calls thrice at The French Laundry. First, arrives a beautifully glazed brioche bun. It’s got Lana Turner’s curves with the coloring of Sophia Loren after a summer on the Riviera. Then, a basket of mini baguettes and whole-grain wonders, all of which I overlooked in favor of the pretzel roll with […]

Continue

photo of the week 2: the church of mushroom…

Since España won the World Cup this week, I dove into my Spanish collection for inspiration. In 2005, I was a student of the world, traveling extensively and eating my way gluttonously through Europe. How could I not stop in Barcelona? A hajj to the tapas Mecca seemed not only prudent, but necessary. I never […]

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photo of the week 2: the church of mushroom…

Since España won the World Cup this week, I dove into my Spanish collection for inspiration. In 2005, I was a student of the world, traveling extensively and eating my way gluttonously through Europe. How could I not stop in Barcelona? A hajj to the tapas Mecca seemed not only prudent, but necessary. I never […]

Continue

review: embarrassment of riches…

Café Boulud, New York, New York Chanel No. 5 in the dining room, Yemen No. 10 in the spice pantry. This is the dichotomy you’ll find at Café Boulud. Yeah, yeah, I know, I was just there. That was Gavin Kaysen’s reaction too when he saw my name pop up on the books.* A return? […]

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review: embarrassment of riches…

Café Boulud, New York, New York Chanel No. 5 in the dining room, Yemen No. 10 in the spice pantry. This is the dichotomy you’ll find at Café Boulud. Yeah, yeah, I know, I was just there. That was Gavin Kaysen’s reaction too when he saw my name pop up on the books.* A return? […]

Continue