We don't do reviews per se here at Eater, but there are scores of local bloggers that do. Have a blog that should be on our radar? Do let us know.
1) Leading off, we turn to Pizza Friday, by Michael Bauer. The Bauerster ventures all the way up to Napa this week for the thin-crust goodness at Pizza Azzurro, where he learns all types of new things:
I thought the valley must have produced some strange pizza habits when I saw a couple fold their lettuce-topped pizza -- one with romaine, the other with arugula -- in half and eat it like a big puffy taco. Then I saw the menu describe the Manciata as "a handful of just baked dough with a salad on top. Fold and eat like a sandwich."Also notable is the thickness of the crust; says Bauer: "one of the thinnest I've encountered." And you know that's saying something. [Between Meals]
2) The Fro-Fro Blog—what else?—takes its turn at the city's newest fro-fro restaurant, Spruce. In a bit of a surprise, Spruce doesn't live up to its epic hype:
Upon arrival, the restaurant's decor is strikingly beautiful. Adjacent to the foyer there's a lounge to the right and what looks like a patisserie on the right. The bar's larger-than-life wall of bottles could be a work of art. The dining room is furnished with chocolate velvet walls with matching settees. The chairs are caramel ostrich. Hungry yet? We were. However, due to the painfully slow service the entire evening, we had to ask ourselves: "Are we going to get fed, or just fed up?"The food didn't blow her away either; the ambiance is the main thing Spruce has going for itself... which makes this one blogger's review strikingly/oddly similar to Mr. Bauer's assessment of the matter (4 stars for atmosphere, 2.5 for food and service). [Fro-Fro]
3) One aspect of blog reviews that is (usually) missing from their professional counterparts is the tendency to point the idiosyncratic. Case in point: at Nick's Cove, who knew the backstory to the giant deer heads? [If I Ran the Zoo]
4) Up next we have Bay Area Bites at Green Chile Kitchen, a two-year old modern Mexican spot. The good: comfort food, salads, guac and burritos. The bad: can someone please simplify that menu? [BAB]
ELSEWHERE, Liberty Cafe is "as cool and calm as an Egyptian tomb" according to Not For Tourists, Fork & Bottle rubs elbows with Francis Ford Coppola (not really) at the Unnamed Cafe in his winery, and A Few Reservations is getting bored with the whole blog review thing but shares an experience at Universal Cafe nonetheless.