Email Author Paul Reidinger

1996 Stories by Paul Reidinger

• Dish

  published December 25, 1996

  What's Your Poison? If you're looking for fugu on local Japanese menus, don't be fooled by Blowfish, the enticingly named sushi bar that's... More >>

• At the Stir-Fry Cafe

  published December 25, 1996

  Firecracker is -- but does not look like -- a Chinese restaurant. Notwithstanding the few Fu Manchu-style dolls perched on a stagelike outcropping... More >>

• Dish

  published December 18, 1996

  Caribbean Sunset If you've never been to Miss Pearl's Jam House, the Caribbean restaurant with live reggae music in the Tenderloin's... More >>

• Spanish Mainstream

  published December 18, 1996

  Despite the profusion of Spanish restaurants that have opened recently in the city -- one of the latest being Barcelona, on a romantically narrow... More >>

• Through a Glass Darkly

  published December 11, 1996

  On the charm scale, Mecca's exterior rates a clean zero. It looks like a misplaced Ice Station Zebra, with a punitive concrete facade and broad,... More >>

• Dish

  published December 11, 1996

  Tangerine Dream The holiday season elsewhere might be heralded by snowstorms, mailers full of credit-card checks ("works just like a real... More >>

• Dish

  published December 4, 1996

  M Is for Mum The people behind the defunct Bistro M -- including celebrity chef Michel Richard -- aren't exactly flapping their lips about... More >>

• The Great Indoors

  published December 4, 1996

  With nearly 4,000 restaurants of various shapes and sizes operating in this city, a distinguishing angle or characteristic for new entries is all... More >>

• Dish

  published November 27, 1996

  Darkness at Noon If you blinked, you missed the Cosmopolitan Grill, whose six-week run across the street from the Moscone Center ended... More >>

• French Connection

  published November 27, 1996

  For those who think San Francisco's best days of grace and amenity are behind her, Meribel will give a pleasant shock. The restaurant (which... More >>

• Dish

  published November 20, 1996

  The Friendly Skies Flying Kamikazes, the rock 'n' roll sushi joint in the Marina that lost its name in a fight with Kamikaze Sushi of San... More >>

• That's a Wrap

  published November 20, 1996

  Imagine a fugitive liaison between Boston Market and World Wrapps: Roast chicken (with two side dishes) meets a world of cuisines folded in... More >>

• Dish

  published November 13, 1996

  Wrappmasters College buddies are nothing if not hatchers of schemes to make their mark in the world, and every now and then these schemes... More >>

• Painting by the Numbers

  published November 13, 1996

  No cosmetic detail of 900 Bush whets one's expectations. From the outside the place is undistinguished, except for a bright-red neon sign... More >>

• Dish

  published October 30, 1996

  Emily's List No self-respecting pastry chef frets about the calories and general decadence of dessert -- and Emily Luchetti, former pastry... More >>

• Eastern Standard

  published October 30, 1996

  To be seated deep in the dining room of Moxie, against an exposed-brick wall that roughly joins the concrete floor, is to entertain for a moment... More >>

• Dish

  published October 23, 1996

  Say Fromage! The vast variety of French cheese may have vexed the nationalistic Gen. de Gaulle ("No one can simply bring together a country... More >>

• Shock of the Raw

  published October 23, 1996

  One of my central experiences at sushi restaurants in the city lately is hearing weirdly dissonant music, whether "Money Honey" by those pop... More >>

• Dish

  published October 16, 1996

  Wines for More -- or Less One way to guarantee vastly overpaying for wine is to order it in a restaurant. An even better way is to order... More >>

• Are You Being Served?

  published October 16, 1996

  There are various kinds of bad service -- orders confused, servers surly -- but there's nothing more aggravating than being made to wait,... More >>

• Dish

  published October 9, 1996

  R.I.P. Restauranting is something like shipbuilding: New ventures are launched with considerable fanfare and then sent out to meet their... More >>

• Suds City

  published October 9, 1996

  As an American cultural marker, beer has always been distinctly blue-collar, something to serve with hamburgers and potato salad at summer... More >>

• Dish

  published October 2, 1996

  Flour Power Flour might not yet have the boutique cachet of such snazzy products as Laura Chenel goat cheese or Indian-blood peaches -- for... More >>

• A Little Havana

  published October 2, 1996

  My first impression of the Port Cafe (recently conjured from the remains of the Port Deli) was that it resembled the ramshackle cafeteria of a... More >>

• Dish

  published September 25, 1996

  On the Road The Budweiser Mobile Beer School -- "the largest traveling classroom ever assembled," according to the Anheuser-Busch Co.,... More >>