End of Summer Sips

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Guinigi's Rose Prosecco is especially welcome in these still-warm days and nights.
Guinigi’s Prosecco Rosé is especially welcome in these still-warm days and nights.

2023 Guinigi Prosecco Rosé 

Pretty in pink — and make it Italian.

There are few more delightful ways to enjoy the last days of summer than sipping a glass of 2023 Guinigi Prosecc Rosé  ($17).

From Italy’s northeastern province of Treviso, this pale pink-salmon bubbly, of which I received a sample bottle, was made by winemaker Alex Beloz and proprietor August Sebastiani. Yes, you know the name well, as he’s the fourth-generation winemaker of one of California’s oldest and most storied wine families.

The Guinigi label, under the Gehricke winery umbrella, honors his family’s roots in Italy. It pays tribute to the Guinigi tower, a historical landmark in the town of Lucca, Tuscany, from which the Sebastiani family immigrated in 1895.

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Square Pie Guys Debuts in the South Bay

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The Mush-O-Roni at Square Pie Guys in Campbell.
The Mush-O-Roni at Square Pie Guys in Campbell.

Come for the thick-crust pizza. But stay to savor the Szechuan wings. In fact, you just might want a second order of those.

Square Pie Guys, which debuted in San Francisco six years ago, just opened its first South Bay locale — in Campbell.

It specializes in Detroit-style pizza from the Motor City, which was appropriately enough originally baked in industrial car parts tray.

The name may be a bit of misnomer — as the pizzas are baked in deep rectangular pans, not square ones — but the results are incredibly crisp perimeters and corners with the lacy, baked-on cheese we all fight over.

Last week, I was invited in as a guest of the bright, airy restaurant, where the friendly employees were making a point to greet each table.

You know you're in the right place.
You know you’re in the right place.
The decor is simple but with fun touches.
The decor is simple but with fun touches.

You order at the counter, then take your number to your table, where a server will deliver the goods when ready.

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Salt & Straw’s Wild-Foraged Berry Slab Pie Ice Cream

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You're sure to flip for this dreamy "Wild Foraged Berry Slab Pie'' ice cream recipe by Salt & Straw.
You’re sure to flip for this dreamy “Wild-Foraged Berry Slab Pie” ice cream recipe by Salt & Straw.

A loaded, buttery berry pie a la mode — but remade into pure ice cream form.

That’s what this dreamy “Wild Foraged Berry Slab Pie Ice Cream” tastes like with its ripples of jammy berries and chunks of sugary crust throughout.

Of course, it can only be from the new “America’s Most Iconic Ice Creams: A Salt & Straw Cookbook” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy.

With more than 75 recipes for ice creams, sherbets, and sorbets, it was written by Tyler Malek, co-founder of Salt & Straw, one of the most boundary-pushing and wildly successful ice cream companies in the country; and James Beard Award-winning food writer J.J. Goode.

Malek hones in on America’s most beloved ice cream flavors, and provides not only his best versions of them, but uses them as a springboard to create even more fanciful riffs.

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A Visit to Thomas Keller’s Burgers & Half Bottles

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Lunch is served at Burgers & Half Bottles.
Lunch is served at Burgers & Half Bottles.

Two and a half weeks after opening, Thomas Keller’s Burgers & Half Bottles continues to draw lines of hungry and curious diners to his playful pop-up.

So much so that last Thursday, when my husband and I showed up at the opening time of noon to queue up behind about two dozen people, there were already plenty of diners eating burgers on the front patio. Turns out that the line that morning was already growing so rapidly, that the restaurant decided to open a little early, the manager told me.

Such is the allure when a legendary Michelin three-starred chef decides to build a concept around one of his favorite foods, the In-N-Out burger. When his Mexican restaurant Calenda closed in December 2024, it provided the perfect space for him to realize it, too.

Located in the building that was formerly home to Calenda.
Located in the building that was formerly home to Calenda.
The brew bus with beer taps.
The brew bus with beer taps.

On a torrid morning when it was already close to 90 degrees, a server passed out cups of ice water to those in line. This is a Keller restaurant, after all.

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A Taste of San Francisco’s Oldest Coffee Roastery

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Graffeo Dark Roast prepared French press-style.
Graffeo Dark Roast prepared French press-style.

Graffeo Coffee, which opened in San Francisco’s North Beach in 1935, is not only the city’s oldest coffee roastery, but one of the longest operated ones in all of North America.

Italian immigrant Giovanni Graffeo originally started selling his fresh roasted beans in a small grocery store he opened on Columbus Avenue. Today, beans are still roasted there each day.

It remains a favorite at top restaurants such as Michelin two-starred Lazy Bear in San Francisco, Zuni Cafe in San Francisco, House of Prime Rib in San Francisco, and the Girl and the Fig in Sonoma.

Unlike many other coffee companies that offer a multitude of different beans, Graffeo sells only four types: Dark Roast, Light Roast, Swiss Water Decaf, and a custom blend of Half Dark/Half Light.

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