These are the touristy SF restaurants actually worth visiting

These are the touristy SF restaurants actually worth visiting

Cioppino at Sotto Mare in North Beach in San Francisco on Jan. 19, 2023. Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE It’s been a year of ups and downs for Eat Like a Tourist, the column where I bravely dine at San Francisco’s most touristy restaurants to see if they’re actually good. Union Square’s Cheesecake Factory may have been a disappointing … Read more

Exploring Dutch Flat, the Tahoe-area town that raised Gavin Newsom

Exploring Dutch Flat, the Tahoe-area town that raised Gavin Newsom

When California Gov. Gavin Newsom named his son Dutch in 2016, it wasn’t because he had some unknown affinity for the Netherlands. Dutch Newsom, the governor’s youngest, was named for Dutch Flat, for Dutch Flat, California, a tiny Sierra Nevada town off Interstate 80 about an hour from Lake Tahoe. After his parents divorced and his father … Read more

Vivo India: Delhi court extends custody of Vivo India executives in money laundering probe

Vivo India: Delhi court extends custody of Vivo India executives in money laundering probe

A Delhi court on Tuesday extended by two days the enforcement directorate custody of three top Vivo India executives in connection with the money laundering probe against the Chinese smartphone brand. Additional sessions judge Aparna Swami extended the custody of Vivo India interim CEO, Hong Xuquan aka Terry, chief financial officer Harinder Dahiya and tax … Read more

The best Bay Area dumplings to eat right now

The best Bay Area dumplings to eat right now

The Dumpling Report began in 2022 spotlighting a residential neighborhood’s mom-and-pop dim sum takeout spot. It was an intentional choice to begin the column with a non-flashy, everyday eatery that locals frequent at an affordable price, and show how the owners of places like these both maintain and create the culture of the Bay Area.  … Read more

Once a backpacker hot spot, how China’s Yangshuo has succumbed to mass-market domestic tourism – though some holdouts from its ‘cooler’ past remain

Once a backpacker hot spot, how China’s Yangshuo has succumbed to mass-market domestic tourism – though some holdouts from its ‘cooler’ past remain

“I’d guess that over 50 per cent of establishments along West Street were foreign-run when I first showed up,” says Scott Spencer, who visited in 2002 but settled in 2003, during the 2002-04 Sars outbreak, a precursor to the Covid-19 pandemic. Karst mountains rise above the town of Yangshuo on the Li River. Photo: Shutterstock … Read more

Ali Wong’s San Francisco show was all about her divorce

Ali Wong’s San Francisco show was all about her divorce

FILE: Comedian Ali Wong performs onstage during the Moontower Comedy Festival at The Paramount Theatre on April 21, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Rick Kern/WireImage “I really think that for a woman, 40 is a golden age…” Ali Wong announced to a packed Masonic Auditorium, drawing cheers from the crowd. “…to get divorced.” This was the … Read more

Opinion | Did Chinese emperor identify as a woman like Roman emperor Elagabalus? Why we should sometimes question historical accounts

Opinion | Did Chinese emperor identify as a woman like Roman emperor Elagabalus? Why we should sometimes question historical accounts

Was the Roman emperor Elagabalus transgender? A museum in Hitchin, a town halfway between London and Cambridge in Britain, recently changed the pronouns it used when describing an Elagabalus coin in its collection, referring to the emperor as a trans woman using “she/her” pronouns. According to historical records, Elagabalus, who reigned for four years and … Read more

Bay Area Chinese restaurant closing after 53 years

Bay Area Chinese restaurant closing after 53 years

Fried rice at Jade Palace in Newark, Calif. Jadalliya L./Yelp A longstanding Newark restaurant and community hub for locals is closing on Dec. 21 after 53 years. Reportedly, the owners are simply ready to retire. Jade Palace, located at 36601 Newark Blvd., serves up mostly Cantonese cuisine with the likes of potstickers, fried rice and wonton soup. … Read more

Why people from Mexico City rave about this Bay Area salsa

Why people from Mexico City rave about this Bay Area salsa

Not all salsas are created equal. If you live in San Francisco, you probably love La Corneta’s zesty salsa verde or the smoky, reddish version at Papalote. But there’s a more versatile salsa out there, and it has a fascinating story: salsa macha — an oil-based, tomatoless condiment with seeds for texture and chili peppers … Read more

This viral Bay Area seafood restaurant feels straight out of Vegas

This viral Bay Area seafood restaurant feels straight out of Vegas

A glass dome held by a robotic arm ascended from our table, releasing a whoosh of steam that seeped into my pores. But I wasn’t at a spa: Before me appeared a tantalizing plate of freshly cooked shrimp.  Xian Steam Pot & Yakiniku, a new restaurant that opened in Milpitas in June, specializes in both Chinese … Read more