The last time I had been to the Moscone Center was about 20 years ago, back when it was the site of one of the biggest sportscard conventions in the world. In those days, I was real heavy into baseball, and Moscone had it all; there were even a few tables that offered the infamous [...]

With the harvest of 2009 quickly winding down, I’ve made this winter my time to catch up with a few winemakers. Among the folks I most wanted to meet, Matt Taylor certainly topped my list, not only as the winemaker for the cult-favorite Araujo Estate, but also as a BioDynamic vineyard manager and the proprietor [...]

I tasted through about five dozen Riojas this afternoon at the Palace Hotel, and by the end of this four-hour drinking session, I needed lunch in the worst possible way. Of course, I knew this was going to happen, which is why I had already formulated a plan: blissfully full of moderate-to-good Tempranillo, I took [...]

If you ever want a truly visceral Napa Valley experience, I recommend strolling into Pancha’s in Yountville after midnight on a weekday. More than any other place in wine country, Pancha’s is the home-away-from-home for the hospitality industry. It’s where cooks and servers go to get a drink after work, and where cigarette smoking indoors [...]

I got on a pizza kick about a month ago during an impromptu visit to Pizzeria Delfina down in the Mission District (the Bi-Rite Creamery, also near 18th and Dolores, was my overt destination). It may sound a little backwards, trekking into San Francisco just for a scoop of ice cream,then deciding to stop in [...]

The bacon banh mi sandwich at Banh Mi Ba Le can be a curious specimen for those who might be expecting a more Western approach to bacon. To be sure, most people in America have probably never seen this Vietnamese take on the almighty pork belly, which at Banh Mi Ba Le features a bright [...]

Lots of barbecue places tend to be hit or miss, at least here in California. Everett and Jones is no different, although their misses are few and far between. I always get the pork ribs alongside the beef brisket, which is the “Two-Way” pictured above (typically, I request to have the sauce on the side, [...]

So, I have this bamboo steamer that always seems like it’s in the way. For some reason I’ve never found an appropriate location for it in the kitchen — it blocks the food processor, the rice cooker, and a couple of other things that receive semi-regular use. They way I see it, for as many [...]

One of the best things about living in West Los Angeles was being able to find some great Japanese restaurants without ever having to venture east of the 405. Granted, a quick trip down to Olympic and Sawtelle would still bring you dangerously close to this country’s traffic epicenter (the 405-10 interchange ranks as the [...]

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As the reviews for Napa’s newest Mexican restaurant, The Border, have begun to surface, I have been both amazed and disappointed by how many people have issued a judgment based upon their Cinco de Mayo experiences. I mean, really? Cinco de Mayo? [...]