January 1, 2016

“… I wrote so I could say I was truly paying attention… The diary was my defense against waking up at the end of my life and realizing I’d missed it.” – Ongoingness: The End of a Diary by Sarah Manguso

Marta's dreamy straciatella pizza in NYC
Marta’s dreamy straciatella pizza in NYC

Happy new year, my friends. Here’s to a year of hope and new beginnings, further adventures and community around the table. My end-of-the-year/best of 2015 pieces are still posting, with the 10 Most Important Bay Area Openings of 2015 running on Zagat last month and a series of best-of-the-year articles still coming out at Food Republic.

So far, I’ve written about:
– Best places (cities, hotels, restaurants, bars) in international travel
– Best meals: International Edition
– Best meals: Midwest & Southwest Edition
– Best meals: The South
– Best meals: West Coast Edition

Stay tuned for more this week on the best in drink, bars, cocktails.

Even better than Hawaii: off-menu house spam and rice at Liholiho Yacht Club
Even better than Hawaii: off-menu house spam and rice at Liholiho Yacht Club

This issue:

Top Tastes10 Most Important Bay Area Restaurant Openings of 2015: My top 10 of the year – and key honorable mentions.
Wandering Traveler8 NYC Newcomers: Cheap eats (sausages, grilled cheese, bakery, Japanese) to dining (New Zealand, upscale Mexican, Acadian, Roman-Italian) highlights around Manhattan.

As your personal concierge who tells it like a good friend would, I also create personalized itineraries: trips, meals, explorations (under “Services“).

Virginia

CLICKABLE LINKS to Social Media & Articles:
Food Republic
Zagat SF Editor
Liquor.com
Editor, Distiller Magazine
SF Bay Guardian Critic (Weekly Column: 2009-2013)
Where Magazine
Freelance: Whisky Magazine UK, The Times London, Eater, PureWow, Spoonwiz, Drink Me Magazine, Citysearch, NBC’s The Feast, Blackboard Eats, Tasting Table, Grubstreet