Category Archives: Restaurants

A Visit to Pasta Supply Co.

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Veal triangoli with tomato sauce from Pasta Supply Co. to enjoy at home.
Veal triangoli with tomato sauce from Pasta Supply Co. to enjoy at home.

The second you step inside the Pasta Supply Co. on Clement Street in San Francisco, your eyes are drawn to the expansive refrigerator case displaying all manner of pasta sauces and fresh pastas in every shape imaginable.

Now, this is where I would normally show you a photo or two of that mouthwatering display. However, when your husband neglects to feed the meter with enough coins and parks four blocks from the shop while a meter maid is seen circling about, you simply don’t have time for that. So, j ust take my word: Anyone who loves pasta will feel like they’re in Wonderland here.

The Pasta Supply Co. is the brainchild of Anthony Strong, who’s been a chef at the forefront. When the pandemic hit, he was one of the first to convert his then-Prairie restaurant into a veritable grocery store to supply shelter-in-place folks with gourmet products to enjoy at home, and even toilet paper when that basic was in short supply.

The pasta cooks up at home in just a few minutes.
The pasta cooks up at home in just a few minutes.

With restaurants still facing challenges because of higher prices for ingredients, plus the difficulties in hiring staff, Strong made the genius move to open a place that’s half dine-in restaurant and half retail shop. While the dine-in portion is open only for dinner, the retail shop is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, providing for sales opportunities for far more hours.

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San Francisco’s Landmark InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel Nears Its Centennial

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The Margherita naan flatbread at the Nob Hill Club at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel.
The Margherita naan flatbread at the Nob Hill Club at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel.

As someone born and bred in San Francisco, I am mortified to admit that until last month, I’d never taken the elevator all the way up to the Top of the Mark, the iconic 19th floor bar in the grand dame InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel.

With such a celebrated landmark in your own backyard, it’s easy to get jaded, thinking it’ll always be there, so you keep promising yourself to get to it one day.

Well, one day finally came this month, when I was invited to stay overnight, and enjoy dinner and cocktails at this venerable hotel that will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2026.

Everywhere you turn, there is a sense of history in this gilded property. As the saying goes, “They don’t make places like this anymore,” and they sure don’t.

The grand entrance atop Nob Hill.
The grand entrance atop Nob Hill.
The lobby.
The lobby.

Mark Hopkins was one of the founders of the Central Pacific Railway, and a bit tightfisted with his wallet, jested Connie Perez-Wong, the hotel’s creative director, as she gave me a tour of the property. It was his wife, Mary, who convinced him to build her dream home here on top of Nob Hill — all 39 rooms of it. Unfortunately, he didn’t live long enough to ever move into it. Instead, in what some might call a cougar-like move, Mary ended up marrying the home’s interior designer, who was considerably younger than her, and moving into the hilltop home with him.

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Psst…The New Suspiro at Santana Row Has A Secret Speakeasy

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Paella de carne at the new Suspiro in San Jose.
Paella de carne at the new Suspiro in San Jose.

The new Suspiro, which opened in San Jose’s Santana Row last month, offers up delightful Spanish and Peruvian specialties, along with an intriguing attraction:

A secret, reservation-only speakeasy tucked away in the back with its own private entrances.

How surreptitious? The press materials I received never even mentioned it. If you go to the Suspiro web site, you won’t easily find anything written about it either. That is, not until you scroll to the very bottom of the page to find a red star symbol underneath the restaurant’s phone number. Click on it, and it will take you to the Instagram page with a link. Click on that, and you’ll see yet another link to make a reservation at the speakeasy via Resy. You’ll also see a link there for “members,” where you can apply to be one. Although I was told it’s unlikely a membership will ever entail a fee, it may entitle you in the future to special perks.

The stylish dining room.
The stylish dining room.

So, when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant a few weeks ago, this was all news to me. As was the fact that the executive chef is Yerika Munoz Rodriguez, a woman who had Frida Mexican Cuisine and Cantina Frida in Beverly Hills, and worked with celebrated Peruvian chef Gaston Acurio at Astrid y Gaston in Mexico City. That’s because all the press materials only included the name of Oscar Santos, the chef de cuisine, a Barcelona native who spent time working at that city’s Michelin-starred Enigma by Albert Adria.

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Lunching at Michelin Two-Starred Harbor House Inn

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An exquisite bay nut tart with creme fraiche at the Harbor House Inn.
An exquisite bay nut tart with creme fraiche at the Harbor House Inn.

Elk, CA — I have never aspired to be one of those ladies who lunch.

Somehow, so many hours squandered in the afternoon just provokes too much guilt in me.

Yet after spending a leisurely weekday afternoon partaking of a 5-course lunch at the Michelin two-starred Harbor House Inn on the rugged Mendocino coast, I could definitely be persuaded to be one now.

That’s even on a stormy day that drenched me before I made it through the front door and prevented me from taking any outdoor photos.

Six years ago, I had the pleasure of dining for the first time at this 1916 property after Chef Matthew Kammerer came on board to transform the restaurant from a wayside stop to a must-stop. That time, it was for dinner, and before it officially opened to the public (because I helped write some of their original marketing materials).

The double-sided fireplace that definitely warms on a rainy afternoon.
The double-sided fireplace that definitely warms on a rainy afternoon.
The sitting room where you can relax before being escorted to your table.
The sitting room where you can relax before being escorted to your table.

So much has changed since Kammerer took over. Most notably, the former executive sous chef at San Francisco’s Saison when it held three Michelin stars, gained his own two Michelin stars, launching this Craftsman-style inn three hours north of San Francisco in the tiny town of Elk into the stratosphere.

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Mendocino Coast, Part II: The Little River Inn

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The new lobster mac on the menu at the Little River Inn should not be missed.
The new lobster mac on the menu at the Little River Inn should not be missed.

Mendocino, CA — In this day and age that values change and progress at the speed of light, it’s amazing to think that the Little River Inn has been owned by five generations of the same family who have welcomed legions of guests for the past 85 years.

The original house was built in 1857 by Silas Coombs. His descendent, Ole Coombs, turned the property into an inn in 1939, which is now run by his grand-daughter Cally Dym.

Although I’d driven past the inn over the years, it was only when I was invited to stay as a guest last month that I realized just how surprisingly sprawling it is.

The Little River Inn sits on a sweeping 225 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Not only are there 65 rooms, a spa, and a bar and restaurant, but two tennis courts and a nine-hole golf course with pro shop.

The Little River Inn on the Mendocino Coast.
The Little River Inn on the Mendocino Coast.
The "pianist'' in the main building.
The “pianist” in the main building.

Moreover, there are another five cottages just a half mile down the road, which is where my husband and I stayed in the Coombs Cottage, which was larger than many apartments I’ve lived in.

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