Posts Tagged ‘Marcia Gagliardi’

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The Tablehopper’s Guide to Dining and Drinking in San Francisco

Find the Right Spot for Every Occasion

Marcia Gagliardi

Quick: your parents/ex-boyfriend/regional sales manager/hip friend from Manhattan are coming to town. Do you know where to take them for dinner? Unfortunately, most restaurant guidebooks can’t help you find the right spot. Because here’s a revelation: diners don’t choose restaurants by category ranking (French, Financial District, $$$, ***), but by occasion: cocktails and nibbles with the girls, first date, power lunch, dinner with the kids.

Finally, there’s a guidebook by someone who understands how people really eat really dine out. Marcia Gagliardi, a San Francisco food writer and culinary personality, is known from coast to coast as “The Tablehopper,” a trusted source for what’s new, good, and of course, delicious in the San Francisco restaurant and bar scene.

Since Marcia was a teenager, she has been an unofficial culinary concierge for her friends and family, who came to rely on her knack for providing the perfect restaurant recommendation. After launching her weekly tablehopper e-column in 2006 and receiving an onslaught of requests from her readers, Marcia started “tip please,” a free customized restaurant recommendation service on her site.

After making more than 1,500 restaurant recommendations, Marcia realized that her readers were always looking for restaurants by situation, and rarely by neighborhood or cuisine. Whether it’s a group of out-of-towners trying to find that quintessential San Francisco experience, a birthday group seeking a rowdy place for a party of 10, or a nervous couple on a blind date, people want a personal recommendation from a well-connected local—not a faceless guidebook.

Marcia’s solution to these dining dilemmas is The Tablehopper’s Guide to Dining and Drinking in San Francisco, which covers the city’s dining landscape with a totally fresh perspective and voice, recommending the right place for the right time. With her unique blend of enthusiasm, insider knowledge, and sass, Marcia takes into account why you’re going out, who you’re dining with, and how much cash you have to burn.

The book contains nearly 600 reviews of her top suggestions for occasions like:

Marcia also includes “insider” one-, two-, and three-day itineraries for gourmet-minded tourists on a variety of budgets. With sections on destination-worthy locations in the East Bay, South Bay, and Wine Country, this is the sort of handy guidebook even a local—especially a local—will find useful.

The Tablehopper’s Guide to Dining and Drinking in San Francisco is full of hot tips about obscure locations, can’t-miss dishes, and the best seats in the house that only a savvy food writer, obsessive restaurant insider, and San Francisco resident of 15 years would know. The tablehopper is your ultimate restaurant matchmaker, guiding you to the best pupusa or Pimm’s Cup, for date one or three. 

about the author

Marcia (rhymes with Garcia) Gagliardi is a freelance food writer and culinary personality, known as the tablehopper. Marcia and her free weekly e-column are among the Bay Area’s most trusted resources for spot-on (and fun) recommendations on where to eat, drink, and hobnob. She has appeared on Oprah & Friends: The Gayle King Show; Playboy TV; the Martha Stewart Living Today radio show, and many local programs. Visit www.tablehopper.com for more information.

The Tablehopper’s Guide to Dining and Drinking in San Francisco: Find the Right Spot for Every Occasion  

by Marcia Gagliardi

$16 paperback • 240 pages • two-color • 5 x 7 inches

ISBN: 978-1-58008-128-3 • Publication Date: March 9, 2010