California

Brett had Bay Area bloggers buzzing. “Where is he taking you?” they asked when I told them about our e-mail exchange. The exchange went like this: Me: I want to meet you! Brett: Great! Let’s meet for lunch Thursday. Me: Ok. But there’s a problem. Brett: What? Me: I’m going to MANRESA that night and…

My reasons for going to San Francisco were manifold: to see the Golden Gate bridge, to eat lots of food, and–very high on the list–to meet one of my all-time favorite food bloggers, Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks. Heidi’s star is on the rise these days: with the release of her GORGEOUS new cookbook, Super…

According to Gourmet Magazine’s most recent ranking, Chez Panisse is the second best restaurant in America. It’s one notch below Alinea, which serves future food–high concept, experimental, visionary–and one notch above the French Laundry, which offers classic refinement and sophisticated grandeur. How does Chez Panisse fit in there, there at the pinnacle of American cuisine?…

Do pictures of food speak for themselves? Can you tell if I loved my lunch at The Slanted Door by images alone? Let’s find out. I’m not going to say any more–just going to post lunch pictures with labels so you know what you’re looking at. Now it’s your turn to be the critic: if…

This review will be easy. I loved A16. When Fatemeh suggested it for dinner, I didn’t know what to think. I hadn’t heard of it. It sounded like a steak sauce. Was it really worth giving up one of my dinner slots for this? Well the answer, as I can tell you now that I’ve…

If I thought more people knew the song, I would write this post to the tune of Dolly Pardon’s “Jolene.” It would go: Tartine…tartine…tartine…tartine…I’m begging of you please don’t take away my tart. (If you don’t know the song, I think you should buy it or download it illegally. It’s fun!) My rental car situation…

Don’t go to Zuni. Do go to Zuni. It’s overrated. It’s underrated. It’s passed its prime. It’s a perennial. It’s a legend. You have to eat there. Welcome to the Zuni Cafe, the subject of much debate in the San Francisco dining scene: I’ve known about Zuni for a very long time. I’ve had the…

After the refinement and excitement of Thomas Keller, where do you go for lunch? The modest, hardworking people of my stomach wanted a revolution– –not every meal has to be hoighty-toighty, they said. It’s time for real food, basic food, cheap food. It’s time for a San Fransisco staple: a Mission burrito.