Adrian Spinelli

Happy first Mother’s Day to my one and only. Following your lead on this unreal journey forever ❤️

Leaning into being a Dad big time and these past couple weeks have been really, really special. Mom went back to work and I’ve been spending a ton of time with Arlo before he starts daycare. We’ve been hopping on MUNI and exploring some of my favorite corners of the city, visiting some of my favorite businesses and just sharing his smile with some of my favorite people. Filled with love and enthusiasm to raise a kid in the city ❤️

Brazilian food is all about making what’s simple be remarkable. When I leave the country, my biggest regret is not being able to eat and drink more of everything. And all of it is just daily staples, simply seasoned, mixed or brewed, etc… With that, these were my favorite everyday things I ate and drank on this last trip. Foods that I’ve been eating since I was a child that forever taste like the best thing in the world. (Not pictured: A lot of rice and beans) 1 - Hearts of palm salad on a hot day. Dressed with olive oil, vinegar and salt 🤤 2 - Fresh fruit on the beach served over a scoop of ice cold açaí 😎 3 - Coquinho: Diced coconut chunks caramelized with sugar. Eating this takes me back to buying bags on the street of Águas de Lindóia where I spent most of my summers as a kid ❤️ 4 - Pão de queijo (cheese bread) w/ café espresso. Lost count of how many PDQ’s I had on this trip. Every padaria (bakeries) makes them differently, with a variation of cheeses like Parmesan, meia-cura, provolone, etc.. 🧀 5 - An ice cold Skol on the beach. With 7oz cans, every sip stays cold until you crack another. Bliss. 🍻 6 - Picanha - Brazil’s finest BBQ cut, seasoned with rock salt and only rock salt 🙌 7 - Brazilian papaya is the best papaya (Thailand a close second). I love it with a squeeze of lime 😁 8 - Green corn from the beach carts. Sliced off the cob, with a dab of margarine and pinch of salt. 🌽 9 - A perfect caipirinha. Cachaça, lime, sugar, ice 🤙 10 - Green coconut water. When you’re done, vendors will crack ‘em open with a machete so you can eat the meat 🥥 11 - Crispy polenta fries. No notes 🍟 12 - A dark chopp (draft beer) w/ a solid layer of head. Slightly sweet, malty and cold as hell 🍺 13 - Mango porn 🥭 14 - A giant caipirinha on the beach made with maracujá (passion fruit) 😍 15 - Queijo Minas. Fresh white cheese indigenous to the stage of Minas Gerais. I love it for breakfast, with guava paste and especially on sandwiches 🇧🇷 16 - Coxinha: A fried dough pocket filled with seasoned chicken. These are everywhere, from bars to highway gas stations 🍗 17 - Sonho (dream): A freshly fried doughnut filled with custard or dulce de leche ☁️✌️

A secluded beach lagoon at sunset, a peacefully sleeping baby and a perfect sandwich ❤️🇧🇷

Pulled up to the fish market stalls in Bertioga twice this week. When I’m there, I always make a point to go look out at the tiny fishing boats anchored in the river mouth, long after they’ve floated up to the back of the stalls to deliver the daily catch. There’s a ferry here from Bertioga to the northernmost tip of Guarujá and its 20+ beaches. We always joke about how it’s gotta be the shortest ferry in the world: “It just goes from right here to over there.” Today at the stalls, I scooped a two pound local whitefish to grill and got some shrimp a couple nights ago for a risotto. I love this place and the view is always free ❤️🇧🇷

I’ve had distinct visions of bringing Arlo to our place at the beach in Brazil since the day he was born. These first couple of days here have been blissful and filled with the best things: Lots of family time, Brazilian BBQ, sipping enormous caipirinhas, goofy dogs and enjoying a lot of his “firsts.” Que maravilha 🤙❤️🇧🇷

Still got it y’all 😤

My Valentines. My everything ❤️

My first Simpsons tattoo is a nod to the unbridled enthusiasm that I share with both Santa’s Little Helper and my Nino for the simple things in life that bring us joy. Thank you @mikebiancoart over at @laughinggoattattoo for crushing this idea! ❤️🤪

I humored myself and went through all of my photos from 2016 to try to remember what I was doing a decade ago. It made me reflect on how deep in the trenches of music journalism I was and how much I was hustling as a photojournalist all over the country too. It’s a trip to see just how many of my favorite artists I was shooting from the photo pit and to feel the emotions of the stories I wrote & podcasts I recorded though some of the portraits I took. It’s powerful to think about how much my drive and passion manifested back then and that’s the big takeaway from this exercise. Like…my two favorite albums that year were by Anderson .Paak and Thao & The Get down Stay Down and I was lucky enough to interview them both and photograph them performing multiple times throughout the year. I’m proud of the work that I did and of who I was becoming. Anyways, there were sooooo many photos I loved, but here’s my favorites: 1 - @anderson._paak at SXSW 2 - @devhynes at the Greek Berkeley 3 - @carlyraejepsen at the Warfield for Noise Pop Fest 4 - @icecube at Treasure Island Fest 5 - @kamasiwashington at The Independent (NP Fest) 6 - @chilipeppers at Bottle Rock 7 - @charli_xcx & Sophie (RIP) at SXSW (this one means a lot) 8 - @christopher_david_owens at Santo Recording Studio 9 - @vincestaples at the short-lived Social Hall SF 10 - @mitskileaks at Swedish American Hall (NP Fest) 11 - @kurtvile at Bonnaroo 12 - @thaogetstaydown at Different Fur Studios 13 - @waxa_katie at Cheer Up Charlie’s in Austin 14 - @billcallahansmog at Swedish American Hall (Greatest NP Fest ever) 15 - Frances Quinlan of @hopalongtheband at the Fox Oakland 16 - @wearecathedrals at Cafe Du Nord 17 - @pandabearofficial w/ @anmlcollective at Fox Oakland 18 - @nefthepharaoh at SXSW 19 - @tuneyards at the Ghost Ship benefit show at Fox Oakland ❤️🙏 20 - Husky Spinelli & slim @yeesus in a photo pit somewhere in Austin

For as painful as the world could be in 2025, I’ll forever remember it as the year when we were joined by our little prince. His personality really started blossoming this past month and he spends most of the day smiling 😁 I’m doing my best to treasure the little things when he’s this small, like reading all the Chronicle crossword clues to him and then solving the puzzle “together,” or just staring at each other and holding his hand while listening to music. I played the first Father John Misty album for him this week and he giggled as I sang all the lyrics, then we danced like fools (mostly me) to Hot Chip. Start ‘em young, amiright? I’m a happy Dad coming into 2026, am blessed with a partner whose strength and love sees no bounds and I hope that when Arlo is old enough to know right from wrong, that the future of the world around him is as bright as his eyes. Happy New Year y’all! ❤️🎉

Made the rounds in the SF food world more than ever this year and these were my favorite dishes of 2025 (plus a martini) in no particular order 🤙 (And shouts to @bicoastalista for inspiring me make this post.) 1 - Corn & Crescenza Cappeletti w/ huitlacoche brown butter & smoked lobster mushroom by @flourandwatersf & @xiaoyepdx . This was a one night only collab and I mean… 2 - XO Escargot at @fourkings__ 3 - Lamb two ways at @liholihoyachtclub 4 - Everything Kouign-amman at @parachute.bakery . Not pictured: soft cream cheese inside. 5 - Heirloom Tomato sandy with salsa macha & Duke’s Mayo at @sandysmuffs . Never thought I’d be hyping tomato sandwiches, but here we are. 6 - Hot Honey chicken at @arquetrestaurant 7 - K.T.P.P. Pork Noodle soup at @lunette_cambodia on my favorite solo perch in the Ferry Building. 8 - Summertime BLT at @cafe_sebastian_sf …peppercorn pork belly + bacon + heirlooms + cherry chili jam?? Yes plz. 9 - Boquerones de Santoña at @el_chatosf . I think about these daily. 10 - Swedish Martini at @starlitesf . Aquavit + house lime cordial + immaculate presentation. 11 - Honey Walnut Shrimp + Pork toast at @pigletco.sf 12 - Chili crab & black pepper crab at @damansarasf 13 - Smoked mozzarella stuffed squash blossoms at @collina.sf . Just how my aunt in Italy makes them. 14 - Gnocchi w/ short rib, giardiniera & liwa at @sideasf . I’d been writing all day and saddled up to the bar after 9pm on a Monday for this and two glasses of wine. Bliss. 15 - Smoked Albarcore Tuna Melt at @nopafishmarket 16 - Sformato di Funghi at @viaaureliasf . There’s levels to this dish. 17 - Peking Duck slice at @thatsouttasight . Believe the hype. 18 - Dry-Aged Beef Patty Melt at @truelaurelsf . Forever. 19 - Pão de Queijo at @thebrazilianspotcafe . My lifeblood…I had two today ✌️