The Perfect Spot

06/26/2026

At the James Beard Foundation Awards in Chicago on June 15, 2026, the Outstanding Restaurant in the nation award went to Thai restaurant great, Kalaya Philadelphia, and chef Chutatip "Nok" Suntaranon, North America's 50 Best Restaurants' Female Chef on the continent 2025: www.theworlds50best.com/stories/News/nok-suntaranon-interview-north-americas-best-female-chef-2025.html.

Chef Nok is an amazing chef and fashion maven — and a born comedian. Her rousing and hilarious acceptance speech was a highlight of the 2026 awards.

https://youtu.be/Ke04_jpU824

At the James Beard Foundation Awards in Chicago on June 15, 2026, t...

06/26/2026

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During my eight days at N. America's 50 Best Restaurants awards & researching in Nola late May 2026, I went to dear Mahogany Jazz Hall no less than four times, a short walk from my Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans "home" for the week.

Early and afternoon sets are also top-notch, like this Big Joe Kennedy moment singing Fats Domino's "Blueberry Hill" and a winning couple sets from Kris Royal et al.

https://youtu.be/77fOZZHmeG0

https://www.mjhnola.com
https://bigjoekennedy.com
https://khrisroyal.band

: During my eight days at N. America's 50 ...

06/26/2026

More to come in my next Chicago guide, but had quite the beef feast at Bonyeon from chef-owner Sangtae Park. Recalling the epic Hanwoo beef feast I had in Seoul, though there I ate raw beef of the side of a cow (!) https://medium.com//eating-raw-beef-off-the-side-of-a-cow-ancient-hot-cold-cooking-techniques-more-in-elevated-287a221e1d56, Park sources a range of beef, including as close as he can get to Hanwoo (I get into the differences between Hanwoo and Wagyu in that Medium article).

This is also not a “steakhouse,” thankfully, but a mix of bites, cuts and styles, as well as seafood, veggies and other creative fine dining bites served at a chef’s counter with an intimate few diners.

A strong upscale Korean dining experience in Chicago: https://youtu.be/ekf-gEtoUr8

theperfectspotsf.com/tag/chicago

More to come in my next Chicago guide, but had quite the beef feast...

06/26/2026

Thrilled for all the California Michelin winners this week across my glorious state... and not surprised this December newcomer is one (which I called since my March visit).

Restaurant Naides is modern Filipino creativity in the seat of the densest, largest US Filipino population — and one of the best NA (non-alcoholic) pairings I've had in the world this year. All from this tiny kitchen.

Chef Patrick Gabon's bagoong is an unexpected caviar course, emboldened by a fermented condiment made from salted shrimp, picked chayote (mirliton) and moringa leaf. This enchanting concoction is first baked in fig leaf, then charred, with trim and off-cuts of the shrimp turned into a jelly seasoned with fig leaf vinegar. The jelly tops the condiment, garnished with duck cracklings and N25 Caviar. Layers of surprise and blessed contrast await.

My full review & congrats, chef Patrick, Celine Wuu and the team!

https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/upping-the-filipino-game-sustainably

06/26/2026

At the James Beard Foundation Awards in Chicago on June 15, 2026, Best Chef California went to Dave Beran of Seline in Santa Monica, where I had a beautiful initial visit last summer (opened 12/24). Can’t wait to return.

His former Michelin-starred Dialogue was at the time before it closed in Pandemic, my favorite fine dining in Los Angeles (Beran's rich history includes Grant Achatz’ Next in Chicago). Beran's speech was among the most meaningful & real of the night, one those of us hit with great tragedy and loss, but keep pushing through, can relate to. Congrats, chef Dave and Seline!

https://youtu.be/oGqYindGCEM

At the James Beard Foundation Awards in Chicago on June 15, 2026, B...

06/26/2026

Michelin-starred Restaurant Nisei (fresh star again last night for the year) hosted DC’s N. America’s 50 Best Restaurants-winning Moon Rabbit on Sunday, while their neighboring bar_iris_sf hosted Moon Rabbit bar director Thi Nguyen.

Thi worked with ingredients like bittermelon, pandan, honeydew and lemongrass. I especially liked SẦU RIÊNG (Durian), a cocktail of El Tesoro Tequila blanco, charred pineapple, lime, palm sugar and a beautifully funky durian foam. But I also appreciated her fish sauce-forward NƯỚC MẮM with Haku vodka, passionfruit liqueur lemon and fish sauce syrup.

More on Bar Iris: www.thebolditalic.com/modern-japanese-bar-iris-serves-some-of-the-most-ambitious-cocktails-around

06/25/2026

On Sunday, Michelin-starred Restaurant Nisei and chef David Yoshimura hosted DC’s North America's 50 Best Restaurants-winning Moon Rabbit for a collaboration dinner, straight off Susan Bae’s win for best U.S. pastry chef at James Beard Awards last week (www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQLQzNkqoXo).

After the rare privilege of trying the dish twice these couple months, I’m convinced chef Yoshimura’s dessert-esque uni (sea urchin), foraged seaweed, almond bits and almond milk dish is one of the best of the year — out of over 200 hundred I’ve already been to globally. It’s a game-changer from flavor to textural layers.

In fact, Yoshimura masters delicate layers and nuanced surprises. Two new Nisei dishes I loved? A pristine California anchovy, eaten like a taco in a shiso “wrap” over fried blue lake beans in sumiso (miso, vinegar, sugar sauce) with a nori tuile.

And silky, shiro miso-pickled black cod (native to the Bay Area) steamed in shungiku (chrysanthemum greens) and dashi broth with shiso herb oil.

More on Nisei: https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/10-sf-restaurants-remaining-quietly

06/25/2026

Straight off Susan Bae’s win for best pastry chef in the nation at James Beard Foundation Awards last week (www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQLQzNkqoXo), Bae, chefs Kevin Tien and Judy Beltrano came to SF from N. America’s 50 Best Restaurants-winning Moon Rabbit in DC to cook at our own Michelin-star SF great, Restaurant Nisei, with chef David Yoshimura.

Chef Bae’s vegetal, herbaceous dessert wowed, unfolding with layers of makgeolli sorbet, white guava mousse, compressed green apples, jalapeno, pickled green strawberries, cucumber granita, lime leaf and zest, black peppercorns and perilla leaves.

Chef Tran delighted with a play on bolal — here with wagyu sausage wrapped in a perilla leaf with labneh chile crisp tributing DC’s deep Ethiopian community — and slow-roasted pork belly in fish sauce caramel and killer 5-spice rub, cradled in a butter lettuce wrap with peanut suya.

Chefs Yoshimura and Tran also created two memorable collab dishes, including a kakuni beef cheek wrapped in banana leaves, braised in sake, mirin, soy, sugar and shio koji. Lap cheong sausage diced up in a fermented shrimp XO (shrimp from Judy’s mom in DC) with cashew tofu espuma and chef Tran’s bamboo rice steamed in osmanthus leaf and dusted in egg yolk furikake all slapped!

More on Nisei: https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/10-sf-restaurants-remaining-quietly

06/24/2026

at the special new Maria Isabel (this week's review: https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/mole-and-maiz-a-new-modern-mexican).

Sunny sunflowers match the sunniness of the dishes.

06/24/2026

At the James Beard Foundation Awards in Chicago on June 15, 2026, the world class beverage team at Kato Restaurant in Los Angeles won Outstanding Wine Program in the nation, fresh off Jon Yao’s Best Chef California win last year & Kato's The World's 50 Best Restaurants "One to Watch" 2024.

Ryan Bailey & Austin Hennelly spearhead a dizzying beverage program that nails not just cocktails, spirits & wine, but deep-cuts teas & cutting-edge non-alcoholic drinks. A rare, encyclopedic program very deserving of such an award:

https://youtu.be/y_MV5PVt5dU

More on Kato: https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/los-angeles-gifts-to-the-world

At the James Beard Foundation Awards in Chicago on June 15, 2026, t...

06/24/2026

“Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
And miss it each night and day?
I know I'm not wrong, the feeling's getting stronger
The longer I stay away”

Dear New Orleans always melds its soul with my soul
Boudin and crawfish eétouffée
Jazz and absinthe
Mossy oaks and haunted cemeteries

As I returned to beloved spots
and found new favorites in May
I re-read what started it all as a girl,
Merton’s “Raids on the Unspeakable”

At my dear Revel Cafe & Bar (thank you, Chris & Laura!)
Over Ramos and Suissesse
In “Four Quartets”/Eliot form, I
“… arrive[d] where [I] started
And know the place for the first time.”

06/24/2026

Barbie Girl is back (funky-clean, rhubarb, feni, mezcal, mint distillate)! So is Pea-Casso (house aquavit-vodka blend, snap peas, cream sherry, citrus, flat tonic). Two of my seasonal favorite at the great True Laurel, which I just wrote about (again) in my latest SF Bay Area bars roundup at Bon Appétit Magazine: www.bonappetit.com/story/best-bars-san-francisco-bay-area.

The TL special this weekend & 280 Project donation combo of killer crab beignets with house kraut dip and Pickled Gimlets topped with Donna's Pickle Beer was everything. So was service by the amazing, beautiful Ninnette Amene.

P.S. My current new fave on the menu is the cheekily (pun intended) Duchess Plummybuns: single malt Japanese whisky, Santa Rosa plums (THE best), natty vermut, purple shiso.

06/23/2026

My favorite dish — visually and taste wise — from Colombian chef Jaime Rodriguez of The World's 50 Best Restaurants’ 2025 Sustainable Restaurant Award, Celele Restaurante, when he was here in SF June 10 cooking with chef Laura Ozyilmaz at the new Maria Isabel.

Pesca de temporada was a bowl lined with oyster leaves and sunflower petals, filled with local Bay Area tuna, chimichurri okra and a layer of orejero seed hummus, with creamy sesame paste Caribbean sauce with lemon juice, fish stock, moringa oil and za'atar spice poured over.

On Maria Isabel:https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/mole-and-maiz-a-new-modern-mexican

Dalida SF

06/23/2026

Judging spirits with longtime industry friends, celebrating a retirement and rich life helping others, feasting with two of my best girls, Caroline and Natashia (Tashee!) ... times home in between these five crazy red carpet and judging awards weeks have been sweet with my precious community at home.

06/23/2026

The best queso fundido & chorizo I’ve ever had (and I'm a sucker for the dish)?

At the new Maria Isabelsf, it's also one of the most beautiful husband-wife chef partnerships: Mexican-Turkish chefs Laurao and Sayat Ozyilmaz opened their second restaurant represents Laura’s Mexico roots just as their first, Dalida SF, showcases Sayat’s Istanbul upbringing.

Multiple "wow" dishes, like the queso fundido with green & red chorizo, scooped up with sourdough masa harina tortillas.

Or this crispy bolita corn masa buñuelo filled with pistachio guacamole and topped with Kaluga caviar!

My full review:
https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/mole-and-maiz-a-new-modern-mexican

06/23/2026

Alongside my review today of one of the best new modern Mexican restaurants, Maria Isabel: https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/mole-and-maiz-a-new-modern-mexican.
.. Dishes from chef Laura Ozyilmaz' June 10 collaboration dinner at Maria Isabel hosting chef Jaime Rodriguez of The World's 50 Best Restaurants’ 2025 Sustainable Restaurant Award winner, Celele Restaurante, in Cartagena, Colombia.

Rodriguez played with bold flavors like a lacto-fermented limon filled with raw prawns or gallina confitada, a hen confited in pork fat with sour guava BBQ sauce, grilled banana cooked in coconut oil, banana peel cracker, long beans, smoked chicken broth with coconut peel and coriander oil .

My favorite from Rodriguez was pesca de temporada. It was the most visually gorgeous in a bowl flanked with oyster leaves and sunflower petals. Local Bay Area tuna, chimichurri okra and a layer of orejero seed hummus hid in a creamy sesame paste Caribbean sauce with lemon juice, fish stock, moringa oil and za'atar spice.

Dalida SF

06/23/2026

Welcome to the States, starting with California, Burdekin Rum from north Queensland, Australia (produced on the edge of a national park and the Coral Sea!)

Their rums continue to sweep double gold awards in many of the global competitions I blind judge in (San Francisco World Spirits Competition, American Distilling Institute International Craft Spirits awards), including winning Best in Class of all rums in the world at SF World Spirits' Top Shelf (www.foodandwine.com/best-rum-burdekin-distillers-edition-top-shelf-2025-11868711).

Love working with this client (among my spirits, bar, restaurant clients), as I believe in these beautiful agricole-style (fresh sugarcane) and molasses rums. Celebrating with founder Tim Lamb as he was visiting SF and LA this week, we hit a few spots, including at my #2 new SF bar opening of 2025, Long Weekend in North Beach: https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/san-franciscos-best-new-restaurants.

Tried my fave Burdekin Distillers Edition Second Guru Cane Rum (full-on agricole) in Long Weekend's crushable Mojito Caballito: white rum blend, vermouth bianco, mint, lime, sugarcane, soda. Burdekin's grassy-fresh rum shines in it, especially with the white vermouth.

Thanks, Rafa and Anna for your warm and excellent service at Long Weekend, always!

06/22/2026

I dined at now 3 Michelin-starred Quince when it first opened as a more mid-range restaurant in 2003, writing about it many times over the years — when it moved to Jackson Square in 2009 as I was restaurant critic at the SF Bay Guardian, to remodels and increasing Michelin stars as I was Zagat editor and Time Out dining and bars reviewer. It ever bested itself, becoming one of the great fine dining destinations in the U.S.

Chef Michael and Lindsay Tusk's superb restaurant trio includes the more casual and buzzing , while Quince remains their grand dame, showcasing Lindsay's superb management and design/style and Tusk's best-in-the-world pastas and cooking. So it was with warm heart I witnessed Michael's win of Oustanding Chef in the nation on June 15, 2026, in Chicago for the James Awards at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Congrats, Tusks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1M-qK65ADg

More on Quince:https://medium.com/the-bold-italic/after-20-years-experience-3-michelin-glory-three-ways-at-reborn-quince-4fd5efa70d6b

I dined at now 3 Michelin-starred Quince when it first opened as a ...

06/22/2026

Happy 10th anniversary, Pacific Cocktail Haven — and Kevin's Outstanding Cocktail Professional in the nation James Beard win this week. Go Kevin Diedrich and the incomparable PCH team.

What a reunion Saturday night of industry friends and pioneers in cocktails and spirits of the last 25 to 30 years! Whole roasted pig, Filipino-style, caviar, cigar rolling, Champagne Pandan Coladas!

06/22/2026

A radiant weekend in my radiant city... San Francisco: I love you then, still, always.

06/22/2026

Returning this week to the ever-great Bar Sprezzatura (Bar Sprz!), Carlo Splendorini and Raymundo (Mundo) Arvizu just launched a martini section (my recent Distiller Magazine interview with these two hospitality masters: https://distilling.com/distillermagazine/carlo-splendorini-raymundo-delgado-of-bar-sprezzatura).

Example: the Amici martini with Vecinos Mezcal, Ancho Reyes Verde, olive brine and cilantro oil , garnished with olives stuffed with queso fresco and Fresno chilies.

Ate chef Joseph Offner’s fab housemade pastas: pappardelle alla Bolognese (with Sakura Ranch Farms waygu beef) and red shrimp scampi alla Veneziana in herb gremolata with lemon and white wine.

https://virginiamiller.substack.com/p/italy-still-rules-in-sf-f9e

06/21/2026

Lucky us: fresh off her being named Outstanding Pastry Chef in the nation at James Beard Foundation awards Tuesday night in Chicago (I captured the moment from the audience), the wonderful Susan Bae & chefs Judy Beltrano & Kevin Tien of DC's Moon Rabbit is cooking tonight with chef David Yoshimura at our own Michelin-star great, Restaurant Nisei here in SF, while their neighboring bar_iris_sf is hosting a pop-up with Moon Rabbit bar director Thi Nguyen.

Can't wait to check it out tonight after Bae's moving win at and their #24 win at North America's 50 Best Restaurants just a couple weeks before in New Orleans: www.theworlds50best.com/restaurants/best-in-north-america/the-list/moon-rabbit.html

06/21/2026

One of the great joys of my Chicago visits is always time with my beloved cousin Matt Miller, who I got to hang with over a couple days this past week.

We also shared the happiest of cocktail hours (even singing together!) at my friend Peter Vestinos' delightful new Double Fun with dear LA friends, Bill Addison & Sundafu.

The best of times.

06/21/2026

Another great moment at James Beard Foundation awards Tuesday was chef Sarah Thompson winning Best Chef Southwest.

Amid a stellar lineup of noms from the region (incl. Jeff Chanchaleune of BAR SEN - OKC & Ma Der Lao Kitchen, from my own birth city of OKC, & Steve Riley of Mesa Provisions, one of my tops in ABQ), chef Sarah cooks regional Mexican food with deep passion, taste and knowledge, from moles to aguachiles.

I've loved her Vegas restaurant, Casa Playa at Wynn Las Vegas for years (first wrote about it here: https://medium.com//las-vegas-dining-guide-15-places-to-eat-now-from-upscale-to-casual-where-to-stay-c55c88108123).

It was a beautiful moment and one of a number of powerful female chef moments in this year's awards.

Wynn Las Vegas