Hello! Thank you for finding this website. My name is Omar Mamoon, and I’m a writer based in San Francisco. You can find my work in publications like The San Francisco Chronicle, Resy, Condé Nast Traveler, and Esquire Magazine, where I also help compile the annual Best Bars, Best New Restaurants, and Best New Hotels in America and Europe lists. I’m not a critic, but rather a curator, an enthusiast who highlights what I find interesting, unique, beautiful, and most importantly, delicious. My work includes everything from trend pieces to recipes and profiles, and I also wrote, co-produced, and co-directed an award-winning docuseries called PFG. A quick read through my FAVORITE PIECES below will give you a good sense of what I’m about.

When I’m not consuming copious quantities of food, I’m running a small cookie dough business based in San Francisco called DOUGH XX. You can find my sweet treats at random spots all around. I also run a non-profit that provides children’s books to California public schools called LIBROS PARA TODOS and volunteer for The James Beard Foundation.

Below are some of my favorite pieces over the last few years. Enjoy!

-om.


LATEST PIECES

Pre-Shift with Quince’s Lindsay Tusk, Punch

Michael Mina: My Egypt, Cooking From My Roots, Moderator, Commonwealth Club

The 7 Best Tavern-Style Burgers in America, Esquire

4 Best Mail-Order Steaks, Esquire

The Bear’s Matty Matheson’s Toronto Restaurants: A Guide, Esquire

The Bear’s Matty Matheson Shares His Favorite Chicago Restaurants, Esquire

This cult favorite S.F. wine destination is opening up a new seafood restaurant, SF Chronicle

The Best Bars in America, 2024, Esquire

The 10 Best Oyster Bars in America Right Now, Esquire

All Things Consumed, SF Standard

In Defense of Pineapple as a Pizza Topping, Esquire

The Best New Hotels and Restaurants in the World: 2024 Hot List, Conde Nast Traveler

The 41 Best New Hotels in North America and Europe for 2024, Esquire

QR Code Menus Are a Bummer. It’s Time for Restaurants to Move On, SF Standard

The Best Martinis in America, 2023, Esquire

Historic S.F. bar with famous views reborn with new drinks, SF Chronicle

Best New Restaurants in America, 2023, Esquire

You’re not drunk. You’re just at the most surreal bar in San Francisco, SF Chronicle

Take a Peek Inside Tracy Goh’s Malaysian Pantry at Damansara, Plate

San Francisco has a Hot New Pizza Place, SF Standard

5 Zero-Zero Natural Wines You Need to Get Wild With, Esquire

This one man makes millions of tacos at S.F.’s most famous taqueria, SF Chronicle

How this one-of-a-kind S.F. restaurant keeps prices remarkably low, SF Chronicle

Natural wine will flow by the keg at this new S.F. bar, SF Chronicle

How an artist and a chef created the coolest, craziest Mexican restaurant in S.F., SF Chronicle

Best Bars in America, 2023, Esquire

Fresh, bouncy noodles star at this new S.F. restaurant, SF Chronicle

New S.F. restaurant is shooting straight for Michelin Stars, SF Chronicle

How a pizza co-op created the ultimate Berkeley vibe, one free baby slice at a time, SF Chronicle

The Best New Hotels in North America and Europe, 2023, Esquire

The Anatomy of Taqueria Cancun’s Super-size, Pollo asada stuffed Mission Burrito, Eater

Chicago Tavern-Style Pizza is Sweeping America, Esquire

The oven. The piano. The bar. How Zuni Cafe built its timeless S.F. vibe, SF Chronicle

This Tequila Enthusiast Just Found Out His New Favorite, Esquire

She won a world pizza competition in Italy. Now she’s opening her first Bay Area restaurant, SF Chronicle

How this treasured coastal enclave became a culinary hot spot, SF Chronicle

The Best New Restaurants in America, 2022, Esquire

Closed since the pandemic, wildly popular S.F. restaurant re-emerges with new look, SF Chronicle

Three Bay Area Restaurants Showcase The Power of Cumin, The ‘Lingua Franca’ of Spices, SF Chronicle

David Yoshimura Expresses the Harmony of Washoku Cuisine at Nisei, Plate

What to order at this buzzy S.F. pizza restaurant form a former Mister Jiu’s chef, SF Chronicle

This Michelin-starred Thai restaurant has been closed since 2020. Now, it’s coming back, SF Chronicle

Best Restaurants for Yucatan-style food in San Francisco, San Francisco Chronicle

The Best Bars in America, 2022, Esquire

This fine-dining chef wants to give Black American food the spotlight with new Oakland Restaurant, SF Chronicle

Chaat: The Best Indian restaurants to find the popular street Food, SF Chronicle

Snail Bar owner will bring natural wine and late-night vibes to a second bar in downtown Oakland, SF Chronicle

The Best New Hotels in North America and the Caribbean, 2022, Esquire

Pyro’s, one of the East Bay’s buzziest pop-ups, is bringing pastrami and pizza to Berkeley, SF Chronicle

Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America, 2021, Esquire

9 Destinations for cooling, inventive shaved ice desserts in the Bay Area, SF Chronicle

The L.A. Taco Travel Guide to San Francisco’s Best Taquerías, L.A. TACO

Shawn Camacho and Shawn Naputi of Prubechu Talk Chamorro Community — and Food, Resy

Five Things to Know About Jo’s Modern Thai, Now Open in Oakland, Resy

Meet S.F.’s newest torta pop-up, where Tartine alum play with the great Mexican sandwich, SF Chronicle

Oakland’s hotly anticipated Snail Bar opens with natural wine and avant-garde small plates, SF Chronicle

Best Bars in America, 2021, Esquire

Bay Area’s next wave of pizza pop-ups has arrived. Here’s where to go, SF Chronicle

Bay Area chefs still having fun with new fried chicken sandwiches. Here are 6 to try, SF Chronicle

Everything You Need To Know About Ernest, Now Open In The Mission, Resy

Yoshika Hedberg of Fish & Bird on Tom Waits, Sousaku, and The Future, Resy

An S.F. pastry chef with Michelin cred is making a solo pastry box, SF Chronicle

A Slate of Bay Area Chefs is getting inventive with a classic: bubbly, crispy focaccia, SF Chronicle

A former Mister Jiu’s chef is now selling his own creamy, crunchy, spicy sweet water noodle kits, SF Chronicle

100 Restaurants America Can’t Afford To Lose, Esquire

Four ways to eat a samosa in the Bay Area, SF Chronicle

How Quick Dog in S.F. keeps its fries Shatteringly crisp — even for delivery, SF Chronicle

Fluffy new S.F. cinnamon roll gets its flair from a lava flow of coffee-laced frosting, SF Chronicle

An ode to the chef’s salad of Cafe Mezzo, a Berkeley symbol of healthy eating, SF Chronicle

SF now has soft and crushable basket tacos, a Mexico City street food mainstay, SF Chronicle

What’s Next for House of Prime Rib, the City’s Ultimate Celebratory Restaurant?, Resy

Hoagie heaven at San Francisco wine shop, SF Chronicle

This rotisserie stands out amid San Francisco’s intoxicating restaurant aromas, SF Chronicle

Tomalley Butter Lobster Roll is like a summer vacation in Maine, SF Chronicle

The Best Bars in America, 2020, Esquire

Bay Area pizzeria makes New Haven-style pies that are worth the journey, SF Chronicle

A San Francisco cocktail for quarantine that transports you to Spain, SF Chronicle

How Bay Area Restauranteurs find meaning by giving back during the pandemic, SF Chronicle

The 7 Best Chip Flavors You’ve Never Tried, Esquire

The case for frying chicken at home amid shelter in place, SF Chronicle

5 Things To Eat Right Now: Winter 2020, Edible San Francisco

Is Tijuana Restaurant in Oakland The Best Old Restaurant in America?, SF Chronicle

Q&A with master sushi chef Jiro Lin of Hamano in San Francisco, SF Chronicle

Yeasayer and Sinkane Prefer Shake Shack Over In-N-Out Burger, SF Weekly

Family of beloved Mission taco truck loses home to blaze, but finds solace in work and community, SF Chronicle

Why I’m going to miss Lucca Ravioli so much, San Francisco Chronicle

Hip to Be Square: Detroit-Style Pizza Is Conquering America, Esquire

Eater's Guide to Eating Burmese in the Bay Area, Eater

The Power of feeding others, no matter the scale, San Francisco Chronicle

A Relic on Rye, San Francisco Magazine

How adversity helped launch Native Sons BBQ in San Francisco, San Francisco Chronicle





RESY HIT LISTS

Lists, guides, and other Bay Area restaurant insider info.





FIVE THINGS TO EAT RIGHT NOW

5 Things To Eat Right Now: Winter 2020, Edible San Francisco

5 Things To Eat Right Now: Fall 2019, Edible San Francisco

5 Things To Eat Right Now: Summer 2019, Edible San Francisco

5 Things to Eat Right Now: Spring 2019, Edible San Francisco

5 Things to Eat Right Now, Edible San Francisco

10 Things to Eat Now Winter 2018, Edible San Francisco





SECRET MENUS

La Taqueria’s Secret Menu, SF Weekly

La Taqueria’s Secret Menu: Part Two, SF Weekly

House of Prime Rib Has a Secret Menu… and It’s Delicious!, 7x7

At Swan Oyster Depot, a secret menu built for regulars, San Francisco Chronicle

 

BUSINESS-Y, MOTIVATIONAL-ISH WRITING

5 Things to Consider Before Starting Your Business, Huffington Post

Successfully Unsuccessfully Funded: How A Failed Kickstarter Helped My Business, Huffington Post

The Only Advice That Helped My Business Become Sustainable, Huffington Post

Five Lessons From A Food Symposium, Huffington Post

The Hardest Part to Starting a Business, Huffington Post

 

RECIPES

An ode to mom’s breakfast, San Francisco Chronicle

Tasty Breakfast Potatoes From Plow, 7x7

How to Make Vietnamese Chicken Pho, Esquire

How to Make the Salsa Verde from America’s Best Taco Joint, Esquire

Learn to Make Locanda’s Classic Cacio e Pepe, 7x7

 

INTERVIEWS/PROFILES

Meet the Oakland Potter on the Speed Dials of the Bay Area's Buzziest Restaurants, 7x7

Meet the SF Consultant Behind America's Best New Restaurant, 7x7

Pastry Chef/Artist Leah Rosenberg Brings Color to Local Restaurants, 7x7

We Wanna Be Friends With Jim Denevan, Found of Outstanding in the Field, 7x7

We Wanna Be Friends With Chris Ying, One Lucky Peach, 7x7

Dan Giusti Wants to Change the Way Our Kids Eat, Esquire

 

MISCELLANEOUS

Pizza 101: A crash course in regional pizza styles, San Francisco Chronicle

Living for the lunch break, San Francisco Chronicle

Chef Gabriela Camara's Guide to Mexico City, 7x7

Tender Is The Night, San Francisco Magazine