With his book Artisanal Cocktails, local startender Scott Beattie established himself as a leading figure of West Coast-style, farmers-market-driven cocktail creation. And as the drink specialist at Healdsburg's Cyrus, Scott championed the building of a high-end cocktail menu to match a high-end food establishment. Today's multi-step recipe is, clearly, not for the unambitious. more ›

We suspect that the only people who rely on the Zagat Guide in the Bay Area are recent New York transplants and elderlies who pick it up in the bookstore in Danville, but we reserve the right to be wrong. Anyhow, the 2010 guide hits the stands today, it's probably more accurate than the SF Weekly Readers Poll, and its democratic readership has again voted Gary Danko into the top spot for food and popularity, beating out older winner The French Laundry and new rising star Cyrus. Saigon Sandwiches and In & Out won for Best Bang for Your Buck. The recently re-opened Sierra Mar at the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur won for Best Decor, but perhaps readers really just meant "best view." And Top Chef Masters runner up Michael Chiarello's Bottega in Napa won Best Newcomer. more ›