The Perfect Spot

08/15/2025

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As the largest percentage of my heritage is Sicilian (with some robust Scandinavian & German to round me out!), my soul is deeply connected to the Aeolian Islands of my roots. Victoria Granof's delightful "Sicily, My Sweet" is a rich tribute on the dessert side of Sicily, from granita and cookies, to cannoli and cakes. The colorful photography is playful and fresh and there is a killer pistachio butter recipe as well:

https://publishing.hardiegrant.com/en-us/books/sicily-my-sweet-by-victoria-granof/9781958417492

Hardie Grant Books Victoria Granof

08/15/2025

One of my favorite dishes as SF's Michelin-starred Angler San Francisco is chef Joe Hou's box crab over koshikari rice, zhuzhed up with a Szechuan peppercorn and dried scallop XO sauce, cured salmon roe and fried garlic.

Angler & 4 other bold, unique restaurants reviewed: https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/fine-dinings-latest-wave-in-san-francisco

08/14/2025

There is no restaurant anywhere (out of 15k I've visited globally) like Merchant Roots. A handful anywhere have changing themes, but not to the geeky, delicious thoughtfulness and diner-engaged playfulness as chef Ryan Shelton and his team's vastly changing menus in SF's SoMa district.

I will be in conversation with him at the great food/drink bookstore Omnivore Books next Wednesday. Would love for you to join us!

https://omnivorebooks.myshopify.com/products/ryan-shelton-author-event-merchant-roots-cookbooklet-collection

(My latest Merchant Roots review: https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/a-new-era-for-3-san-francisco-fine)

Chef Ryan Shelton - Merchant Roots Chef/Owner Ryan Shelton is obsessed with discovering how things are made and exploring ways to make his own things. Growing up, he was equally fascinated by the arts and sciences; he’s a classically trained cellist who was set to embark as a professional musician...

08/14/2025

SF's Michelin-starred Restaurant Nisei is a one-of-a-kind modern Japanese-American restaurant and chef David Yoshimura’s bold cooking is also beautiful... from this oshizushi uni to goma-ae.

Nisei & 4 other unique standouts reviewed: https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/fine-dinings-latest-wave-in-san-francisco

08/13/2025

Michelin-starred 7 Adams is a steal of an $87 five-course menu, but their new seven-course & chef’s counter menus tell a deeper story... and I found my 7 Adams experience the better for it.

(Likewise, I found the more quiet, romantic, book-lined, back all-enclosed “patio” my preference to the closely-packed, buzzy main dining room).

Revisiting husband-wife chefs' David Fisher & Serena Chow Fisher’s 7 Adams: https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/fine-dinings-latest-wave-in-san-francisco

08/12/2025

Getting excited for the first ever North America's The World's 50 Best Restaurants (where I am Academy Chair) awards ceremony & events happening in Vegas next month as we announce our first top 100 restaurants for the continent!

A few early special awards roll out in anticipation, with today's announcement of Quebec's Restaurant Tanière³ winning the Art of Hospitality Award, sponsored by Lee K*m Kee:

www.theworlds50best.com/stories/News/taniere3-north-americas-50-best-restaurants-art-of-hospitality-award-2025.html

Tanière3's unique three-act reimagining takes its guests on a multisensory journey through tradition, terroir and time. As the winner of the Art of Hospitality Award 2025, sponsored by Lee K*m Kee, as part of North America's 50 Best Restaurants 2025, the duo behind the Quebec City restaurant shares...

08/12/2025

With each visit, Michelin-starred SSAL remains a very special modern Korean restaurant ... it’s clear chef Junsoo Bae’s cooking deserve two Michelin stars… not that it’s about the stars, but I use it as a point.

Example: Bae’s historically brilliant American unagi course, the eel displayed fresh and live tableside, soon thereafter arriving in a sushi-esque bite, wrapped in silky gamtae seaweed, melting in the mouth with Sacramento koshihikari rice.

Fine Dining’s Latest Wave in San Francisco:
https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/fine-dinings-latest-wave-in-san-francisco

08/08/2025

Bar Darling is oh-so Marina... crowd of bros and Lulu Lemon gals is a turn-off. But the staff and the bartenders are sweet and earnest & the handheld foods are playful. The ins-and-outs explored, along with six other new spots worth visiting in San Francisco:

https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/where-to-eat-now-hidden-gems-to-viral

08/07/2025

Acclaimed Tulum chef of ARCA's new Mecenes bar in Guadalajara makes almost all spirits themselves with a local distiller. For example, their own clear Green Chartreuse. Though there are a few exceptions where they work with local brands, you’ll find no branded bottles behind the bar, just house distillates used in their subtle but mostly pleasing cocktails.

My review + where to eat, drink, stay and culture in Mexico's underrated great city:

https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/guadalajaras-gifts-to-the-world

08/07/2025

New Cubita transports to Cuba from live Cuban music to Cuba Libres. Views span the Mission to downtown San Francisco, Twin Peaks to sunsets, beautiful by day and bynight.

Where to Eat Now... 7 Hidden Gems to Viral Hits:
https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/where-to-eat-now-hidden-gems-to-viral

08/05/2025

Celebrating 12 years at chef Francisco "Paco" Ruano’s Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants & The World's 50 Best Restaurants' Restaurante Alcalde in Guadalajara with my fellow World's 50 Best Academy Chairpeople, Renée Suen (Canada) and Valentina Ortiz Monasterio (Mexico).

Where to eat, drink, stay and culture in Mexico's underrated city of GDL: https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/guadalajaras-gifts-to-the-world

08/04/2025

East African donuts — not too sweet, warm, crispy with Bebere-spiced guava “chamoy” to dip them in — is a highlight at new Ethiopian-Dominican SF restaurant Meski

(opened by Golden State Warriors' basketball player Draymond Green with Oakland’s Sobre Mesa Oakland and alaMar Kitchen & Bar chef-owner Nelson German and Ethiopian restaurateur Guma Fassil of Meskie's Kitchen, Berkeley).

My full review: https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/where-to-eat-now-hidden-gems-to-viral
sf

08/04/2025

More simply garnished than a torta, lonches are Mexican sandwiches typically filled with meat (often pork), avocado, mayonnaise, sometimes jalapeños, on a soft roll. Under a tile painting of Jesus, Lonches Rafa turns out a truly killer sando for over 30 years. Each bite tasted better than it looked. Sheer Mexican perfection. This is what it’s all about.

This & more places to eat, drink & stay in my Guadalajara guide:

https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/guadalajaras-gifts-to-the-world

08/03/2025

I’ve been writing about lofty Radhaus with its Bay and Golden Gate Bridge views from its Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture perch since it opened August 2018.

Their kasespatzle, loaded with gruyere, ementaler, munster and jarlsberg cheeses with caramelized onions, has long been one of the best anywhere. This visit yielded a change with fried shallots surrounded by a circle of parsley chive oil atop the spaetzle.

This and 6 new spots worth visiting now:

https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/where-to-eat-now-hidden-gems-to-viral