Restaurant Reviews
A fresh memory
The best food transports you. Where Volta transports you is to a long, green lawn on the side of a lake for a reunion of friends and family on a late spring day. You can smell it — in the drink and in the food, and in that place in your mind where the senses create ...
Add Salt to your list
Downtown Boulder’s Salt packs them in during weekday lunches, and other restaurants would be ecstatic to have comparable crowds at Friday dinner. One downside of this popularity is that consigliere Keith and I weren’t able to get a proper table in this venue, which ...
Pearl Street gets a new riff
In the late 1990s, I worked on west Walnut Street, a stone’s throw from the Pearl Street Mall. For lunch, I’d patronize now-defunct venues like Juanita’s and the New York Deli, and I’d often pick up morning coffee at the old Bookends Café. Like many, I felt a touch ...
Classic Italian in Lafayette
As someone with too much time on my hands, I’ve recently been preoccupied with seeking out classic, if not downright iconic, meals. These repasts don’t necessarily have to be pricey or complex, and can be as simple as a grilled cheese accompanied by tomato soup. ...
Chinese, like mama used to make
For me, a visit to a Chinese restaurant is either an exercise in frustration or dewy-eyed nostalgia. I either feel that the chefs are butchering the favored dishes of my youth, or they should immediately be canonized for their uncanny ability to reproduce the ...
An authentic Mexican taqueria
Whenever I go back to the Bay Area for family visits, it’s inevitable I stop by San Leandro’s Taqueria Los Pericos with one or both of my brothers. I suspect our visits are equally driven by the quality of the food as well as having us be seen in public for the ...
Frasca’s little brother shines
A couple of years back, Fiat, Ferrari’s parent company, introduced a diminutive vehicle, the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari. Poised to couple compete with the Mini Cooper, this subcompact isn’t a Ferrari per se (auto enthusiasts can insert the Fiat joke of their choice ...
A laudable weekend brunch
Sunday morning was rough. I had injured my knee the day before, resulting in an ER visit and an unsure prognosis. My friend Ann suggested an ameliorative brunch, and I was game, but not necessarily up for one of those popular joints with a long wait and hip vibe. Nor...
The food next door
Three things distinguish The Kitchen [Next Door] from its namesake neighbor, namely a focus on swift service for time-constrained diners, menu offerings all less than $9, and a family-friendly emphasis...
Rain or shine
It’s hard to quantify something like “best patio.” But even without statistics wunderkind Nate Silverapproved objective data, it’s fair to say to that La Revolución Taqueria and Cantina in old town Louisville is in the running. At least half the total square footage ...
Back to the basics
Mara had a bee in her bonnet vis a vis biscuits. Solicitous friend that I am, I proposed a weekend morning’s excursion to Hygiene, where we could sample the rustic charms of the Crane Hollow Cafe. Resembling more of a lived-in cottage than a sleek diner, this homey ...
