Email Author Paul Reidinger

1997 Stories by Paul Reidinger

• Two for Tea

  published March 19, 1997

  Afternoon tea may or may not be the sign of a civilized society, but it certainly is a welcome oasis in the long stretch of hours between lunch... More >>

• Dish

  published March 19, 1997

  Babying the Baguette There's a new entry in the city's boutique-bread derby: It's an authentic baguette from the Noe Valley Bakery and... More >>

• Fish for All Seasons

  published March 12, 1997

  A yabbie is an Australian crawfish that resembles a small blue lobster. So I learned from a brief conversation with the host at Yabbies Coastal... More >>

• Dish

  published March 5, 1997

  Open ... The local restaurant business can be unsentimental and even brutal, but it also spins webs of continuity that can seem nearly like... More >>

• Singing for Your Supper

  published March 5, 1997

  A lot of restaurants have atmosphere, but no restaurant I've ever been in -- here or anywhere -- can match La Traviata's gorgeously obsessive... More >>

• Dish

  published February 26, 1997

  Little Bites Maybe one reason tapas have become so popular -- too popular? -- is that the word is easy and fun to say, even for... More >>

• King of the Hill

  published February 26, 1997

  The worst thing about Garibaldi Cafe, on the northern shoulders of Potrero Hill, is its entryway. It's like a coat closet with a menu posted... More >>

• Wine Country

  published February 19, 1997

  There are 99 bottles of wine on the wall at PlumpJack Cafe, and then some. Although the restaurant is quite snug by the standards of its... More >>

• Dish

  published February 19, 1997

  Tasting Menus The fourth annual Taste of San Francisco, staged in the Empire Ballroom of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel on Feb. 6, tasted... More >>

• Dish

  published February 12, 1997

  Foaming at the Mouth If the microbrewery-restaurant phenomenon is something of a runaway train lately (witness the recent openings of... More >>

• A Walk on the Mild Side

  published February 12, 1997

  Rasoi, with its high ceilings, lethargic overhead fans, and dreamy soundtrack of sitar music, seems like the sort of place that should be hot and... More >>

• Dish

  published February 5, 1997

  Looking for Trouble A reader, Melissa Graviss, wrote recently to excoriate me as "extremely irresponsible" for suggesting that amateurs... More >>

• The Sound and the Fury

  published February 5, 1997

  If there's a happy medium between sepulchral silence and roaring cacophony in restaurant dining rooms, Eleven hasn't found it -- and probably... More >>

• Surf's Up

  published January 29, 1997

  The far end of Golden Gate Park is an unlikely spot for a restaurant, let alone one with a microbrewery. Yet the Beach Chalet's remote locale --... More >>

• Dish

  published January 29, 1997

  Fancy Feast Judging from the exhibits at the recent Fancy Food Show (which pretty much filled up the Moscone Center Jan. 19-21), the coming... More >>

• Dish

  published January 22, 1997

  The Dirt on Kitchenette The people behind Kitchenette -- the new on-line magazine about Bay Area food, published from a Twin Peaks address... More >>

• Blue Moon

  published January 22, 1997

  There's something discreetly schizophrenic about Bella Luna. The Italian food is superior: dish after dish executed with splendor and verve by a... More >>

• Alice's Restaurant

  published January 15, 1997

  There are so many arty touches, big and small, at Alice's that the Chinese food itself could easily become an afterthought. The interior design is... More >>

• Dish

  published January 15, 1997

  The Nose Knows You walk into a decent restaurant and order, say, cioppino. It's a local thing, and at this time of year there's plenty of... More >>

• Dish

  published January 8, 1997

  It's the Cheese A new book, Cheese Primer by Steven Jenkins (Workman, $16.95), while unmistakably Europhilic, has some unsnobby things to... More >>

• Ready or Not

  published January 8, 1997

  Success, especially if sudden, can be a trial by fire for a restaurant. Favorable early press -- such as has lately been visited on Avenue 9, a... More >>

• High Attitude

  published January 1, 1997

  The South Park Cafe could easily be mistaken for a smart Paris spot, except for the lack of cigarette smoke: That's pure California. There is,... More >>

• Dish

  published January 1, 1997

  Porcini Weather For most of the year, the only porcini mushrooms available around here are the dried (and some say the best) kind, but in... More >>