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 | Keep quiet. Speak easy. In true speakeasy fashion, the buzz was moving and rumors were being whispered, but no one knew quite what to expect before Slide's opening last weekend. That is except for the slide -- everyone seemed to know about the unique entrance that is also the namesake for San Francisco’s newest addition to the speakeasy trend.More |  | Pull Up a Stool Dining at the bar is my favorite way to experience a restaurant, and I'm amazed at how many people don't think of it, or shun the idea when they show up sans reservation. Often it's the only way to dine spontaneously at many of the city's best restaurants. And while I've had many truly elegant dinners atop a bar stool, there's often a casualness that makes you feel more a part of the action.More |  | Foodie Haven at Neighborhood Haunt I'm not sure which is more memorable from my visit to 1550 Hyde, the glass of Aglianico I was given to sample, or the sweetbreads with fava beans. Ultimately it's this conflict that made the whole dinner an extremely pleasurable experience, the menu and the wine list are treated as equal players in the meal.More |  | South Indian Cuisine Comes to the City A love of South Indian cuisine (and a frustration with crossing the bay every time a craving hit) led owners Anjan and Emily Mitra to open Dosa, the latest hot spot on the Valencia corridor. With Anjan's upbringing in Bombay and Emily's retail background in health food, they set out to open a restaurant that would satisfy their friends' palates while meeting their commitment to local, sustainable and organic products.More |  | Palate-Cleansing Citrus I went to the farmer's market looking for signs of Spring to inspire me. There was the first crop of asparagus prominently displayed, a handful of baby artichokes, leeks and all sorts of carrots, but in California we're spoiled, we can actually get these year round even if they're supposed to be springtime vegetables. I was looking for something different; something that would really signal my need for gloves and three layers of long sleeves was about to end. What I came up with was a bit of a surprise: citrus.More |  | Family-Style Dining in the Presidio On a late summer evening, a friend and I ventured into the Presidio with a cab driver who had no more idea where he was going than we did. In my almost four years in the city, it's a world I've only ventured into once before. On this typically foggy night, we were about to experience a not-so-typical dinner.More |  | Late Summer Recipes Squash blossoms: there's something about them that seem so quintessentially summer. Maybe it's the promise of a bounty of zucchini or the shocking contrast of their bright orange petals and vibrant green stems. They're exotic and rustic at the same time. With the abundance of restaurants in San Francisco that focus on seasonal produce and buy from farmer's market, there are many chances to indulge over the summer months, but I've always hesitated to prepare them myself.More |  | What's The Difference? Standing on a rooftop deck taking in the expanse of the Bay Bridge and the East Bay, I'm sipping a vodka martini that tastes very little like vodka and more like limoncello. I saw the bartender make it, there was nothing but vodka poured over ice, shaken and served in my oversized martini glass. The vodka is Skyy's newest product, Skyy90 and the lack of "vodka" flavor seems to be the point.More |  | They go with more than just Chianti I get giddy when I see the first piles of long bright green pods that appear in the farmer's markets in the late spring. It still amazes me how a food I only discovered a few years ago can inspire such excitement in me. While I had seen Silence of the Lambs the famous line meant nothing to me until I first tasted favas tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and chunks of pecorino, the taste was simple, slightly nutty, and vibrant green. The saltiness of the cheese was a perfect match for the mildly bitter beans.More |  | Glamorous Neighborhood Haunt With Food To Match At the turn of the century, Chef Ben de Vries did a fine job of opening Andalu, the Cal-Northwest tapas hall in the Mission District. The food was comforting yet inventive, and priced in the mid-range. We liked it. We're pleased to report that Luella, his latest venture as of 2004, is an excellent extension of de Vries' culinary sensibilities, at a higher price point -- and thanks to its Russian Hill location -- a higher altitude to boot.More |
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