Bangs For Your Buck: Oakland USA

Miranda York visits an ex-gangster’s paradise that’s transforming into a very reasonable culinary hot spot. At passport control, the customs official raises an eyebrow when I mention my destination. “You’ll see,” he says slowly, “you’ll see.” This doesn’t do much to allay my fears. Oakland’s a city full of gangs and guns, right? I’ll be…
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I Left Mina Heart: Michael Mina’s Restaurant

San Francisco fancies itself as a haven for foodies. As a Londoner, I’m unconvinced it stands up to the great British capital, but the city has one restaurant that could give London’s best a run for its money, Michael Mina. Mina, the eponymous chef was born in Cairo and raised in Washington. He is responsible…
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Best Room in the House: Mandarin Oriental, San Francisco

When you walk into the horse shoe-shaped lobby, you couldn’t possibly criticise the correctness of the greeting from the staff arranged around you. It’s duly deferential, perhaps sometimes almost chirpy when the sun’s out, but it’d never stray into familiarity; I noticed I was wiping my feet an extra couple of times before I stepped…
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