food writing

From 2006 to 2008 I wrote restaurant reviews once a month for SF Weekly. I quit mainly because it was too fattening.

• Middle Eastern - "Mack the Kunafa" (review of Old Jerusalem), SF Weekly, June 4, 2008
• Sichuan Chinese - "Lucky Spot Hot Pot" (review of Zone 88), SF Weekly, May 7, 2008
• Japanese - "Izakaya? O Yes" (review of O Izakaya), SF Weekly, April 9, 2008
• Korean - "Specialist Referrals" (reviews of My Tofu House, Toyose, and Zazang), SF Weekly, March 12, 2008
• Turkish - "Let's Talk Turkey" (review of Troya), SF Weekly, February 13, 2008
• Shanghai Chinese - "Shanghai Dilly" (review of Jai Yun), SF Weekly, January 16, 2008
• Roman - "As the Romans Do" (review of SPQR; my suggested title was, "Una Cena Non Basta"), SF Weekly, December 19, 2007
• Yunnan Chinese - "Robert Lauriston Gets Yunnan Chinese Fix at Z & Y Garden" (review of Z & Y Garden), SF Weekly, November 21, 2007
• Afghan - "Welcome Back, Kaddo" (review of Helmand Palace), SF Weekly, October 24, 2007
• Pizza - "Pizza Smackdown" (review of Pauline's and California Pizza Kitchen), SF Weekly, September 26, 2007
• Cuban - "Lunchtime in Havana" (review of Paladar), SF Weekly, August 29, 2007
• sushi - "Hard-Core Sushi" (review of Sebo), SF Weekly, August 1, 2007
• Yucatecan - "It's Maya Pleasure" (review of Popol Vuh), SF Weekly, July 4, 2007
• Burmese - "Burma Daze" (review of Larkin Express Deli), SF Weekly, June 6, 2007
• Peruvian - "Peruvian Mingle" (review of Mochica), SF Weekly, May 9, 2007
• California / American - "Take TWO" (review of TWO), SF Weekly, April 11, 2007
• wine bars - "Latest Vintage" (review of Amelie, District, VinoRosso, and Yield Wine Bar), SF Weekly, March 14, 2007
• Italian - "Mi Amor" (review of Incanto; the paper came up with that incongruous Spanish title without consulting with me; I suggested "I ♥ Incanto"), SF Weekly, February 14, 2007
• barbecue - "A Saucy Tasteoff" (review of Big Nate's, Johnson's, Lilly's, and Memphis Minnie's), SF Weekly, January 17, 2007
• Korean - "Start the Fire" (review of Han Il Kwan), SF Weekly, December 20, 2006
• northern Italian - "Instant Italian" (review of Perbacco), SF Weekly, November 22, 2006
• Persian - "Maykadeh, Not War" (review of Maykadeh), SF Weekly, October 25, 2006
• Vietnamese - "Bistro on a Budget" (review of Bodega Bistro), SF Weekly, September 27, 2006
• Malaysian - "Nonya Business" (review of Singapore Malaysian), SF Weekly, August 30, 2006
• Mexican, German, wine bar - "FiDi After Hours" (reviews of Órale Órale, Schroeder's, and WINE Bar & Shop), SF Weekly, August 2, 2006
• Sardinian - "Sardini-Yum!" (review of La Ciccia), SF Weekly, July 5, 2006
• muslim Chinese - "Got Hot Pot?" (review of Old Mandarin Islamic), SF Weekly, June 7, 2006
• Cambodian - "Running Ahmohk" (review of Angkor Borei), SF Weekly, May 10, 2006
• Cantonese - "Crazy Cheap, Crazy Good" (review of Best Panda), SF Weekly, April 12, 2006
• pizza - "Pie High" (review of Pizzeria Delfina), SF Weekly, March 15, 2006
• The Slow Food Guide to San Francisco (2006), capsule reviews of Cafe Colucci, Cafe Rouge (restaurant, somebody else wrote about meat market), the Cheese Board (the cheese shop, not the pizza, which I recommend, or the bakery, which I don't), and Hong Kong East Ocean.
• "Too Frenchy for Your Taste?" a 1993 essay on French misconceptions about American food, and vice-versa, including a brief interview with Patricia Wells, originally published in the East Bay Express.
• "A Career in Review," a 1994 interview with San Francisco restaurant critic and chef Patricia Unterman, originally published in Bay Food (a defunct local free monthly).
• "Cold Fish, Warm Welcome," a 1994 review of a sushi bar (still good as of 2005) originally published in the East Bay Express, which cut my little Berkeley joke at the beginning.
• "A Bastille Day Look at the Street Markets of Paris," a short essay originally published in the July 1993 Bay Food.
• "Sweet Home Alemannia: Down-Home Southern Cooking, German-Style," a 1993 review of a defunct Bavarian restaurant originally published in the East Bay Express.
• "A History Lesson from the Beer King," a 1993 interview with Alan Eames, originally published in Bay Food.
• "Classic Cookbooks," a review written for the 1993 Christmas "books" issue of the East Bay Express, which paid for the review but did not publish it.
• "Local Ice Cream Company Persists and Perseveres," an overview of the Double Rainbow ice cream company originally published in Bay Food.

©2008 Robert Lauriston. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without explicit written permission.