2017 - Page 6 of 6 - Darin Dines

Shibumi (Los Angeles, CA) [2]

I first dined at Shibumi in July very soon after the restaurant opened. The meal was very good, although the restaurant was still finding its stride. The restaurant has garnered some considerable praise since then. LA Times critic Jonathan Gold named it the second best restaurant in the city in October. Besha Rodell of the LA Weekly gave it 4 stars. The restaurant has been particularly popular in recent months given the praise, but I was able to snag a table over the holidays. I returned in to see how the food has evolved now that it’s been open for six months.

Dining Out | Northern California

In Situ (San Francisco, CA)

In Situ was probably my most anticipated restaurant opening in San Francisco this past year. It’s both a unique and copycat concept – the restaurant exists to duplicate dishes from notable restaurants around the world, as closely as possible. It’s kind of like a rotating museum exhibit of restaurant dishes, fittingly housed in the SF Museum of Modern Art.

Dining In

Christmas 2016

2016 flew by so quickly, as did another holiday season centered around a Christmas feast. Not unlike past years, this Christmas was a tale of two meals – one celebrated on each side of the family. Lunch is a large buffet-style potluck affair, hosted by my aunt and uncle (who prepare most of the food). My grandmother handles most of dinner preparation, which is a bit more meat-centric.