Hello Friends,
OMG, I opened up my email marketing tool yesterday morning to find a spelling error in my January newsletter’s subject line – ack! Nothing like starting the day with your mistakes on full display. But, that got me thinking: Does anyone care about these little errors anymore? Social media, of course, is awash in spelling and grammar errors. And I receive more than too many emails and texts with mistakes. We all are in a rush. Are we all forgiving?
The grammar nerd in me is conflicted. It can be perceived as rude – and who has the time? – to call out someone’s mistakes, especially if they are not a close colleague or share living space with you. I use an AI spelling tool that misses things, too – I think it’s worse than humans most of the time. Besides, no one expects perfection. Yet it’s the little things that, over time, add up to a big thing. I can do better. We can all do better. It wouldn’t take much. Please, let me know about my goofs!
What’s Hot: Restaurant Reviews
In an ever more cluttered online world, a voice to cut through the noise on where and what to eat is valued more than ever. Could this be why I’m seeing a terrific response to my restaurant reviews and special event notices? I suspect so. Here I go!
Did you catch the opening of the rebranded Starlite Room atop the Beacon Grand Hotel at Union Square? The space is beautifully remodeled, the epic views are intact and the food and drinks are cocktail hour-ready.
On San Francisco’s Embarcadero, Alora dropped into the scene with bayfront dining (can’t wait to dine on that patio), a sophisticated vibe and umami-forward flavors from chef Ryan McIlwraith.
Across the bay, Pippal is rethinking what regional Indian food means today. We all know about biryani and naan but the restaurant asks you to reconsider not only how a kebab should be served but elegant variations of paratha. It pushed me and a willing friend to understand Indian food at a deeper level.
Monthly Cookbook Column
I don’t just write about restaurants, hotels and travel. I also enjoy cooking. Just ask my kids who sometimes love my wandering palate (lamb keema tacos!) and sometimes express something other than love (chorizo-crusted halibut was a recent fail). Finding recipes that thrill and inspire takes work and practice. And sometimes a little luck. I’m keen to support others who share the joy of cooking, no matter who the authors are writing for and who you cook for. The kids will be fine.
This month, a cookbook inspired by the Yellowstone TV series. Food writer, recipe developer, and photographer Jackie Alpers was so inspired by Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone, she crafted an entire cookbook around it. In “The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by the Dutton Family Ranch,” Alpers researched the culinary life of ranchers, cowboys, and Indigenous people in the American West, from Montana to Texas from 1883 and 1923, the where and when of the story’s five seasons and its prequel series.
For my cookbook review, Alpers sent me a recipe for mushroom and acorn flour soup, a nice way to use up the leftover acorn flour in my fridge from making acorn flour bread as part of my review of Sara Calvosa Olson’s cookbook, Chími Nu’am. My oldest son loved it. The younger one? Not so much.
Please let me know if you are writing a cookbook or know of a new or forthcoming cookbook I should consider adding to the queue.
What I’m Reading
I just finished “The Upstairs Delicatessen: On Reading, Eating, Reading About Eating, and Reading While Eating” by Dwight Garner. Are you a fan of Garner’s book reviews? If so, this book is for you. With ample white space between memories and snippets of research and notes and other bits, the book reads like a review of Garner’s life. Emphasis on reads.
There are some insights into Garner’s life and more than a few sweet moments. I found I had to pace myself and put the book down after reading a few sections. Perhaps this is a good pace for memoir. It’s a story of a life well-lived, one full of books and reading and reading and eating. Was there ever a more apropos title for a book than this one?
About That Image
On a chilly winter’s night, the chance to dine at Alora felt like a gift. The chairs and banquettes were comfortable, the music wasn’t too loud, and the lighting was bright enough to see the menu (thank you, trendy table lamps) while also dim enough to feel like I was out for a special night. Dishes covered a range of Mediterranean flavors but leaned especially into the eastern Mediterranean. Focaccia, part of the olive service, was next-level delicious. Muhammara was bright and shiny from pomegranate and molasses. I couldn’t stop eating it.
If what I am seeing at Alora and other newcomers like the Presidio’s Dalida and SoMa’s Movida is an indication, Persian flavors are edging in alongside Mexican, and dining rooms are becoming less lounge-y. Will pomegranate reign as the flavor that defines 2024? It’s currently at the top of my list.
Whether or not March comes in like a lion, here’s hoping it goes out like a lamb.
Thanks for reading and be in touch.