All stories about "Week In Reviews"

Patricia Unterman sucks up her distaste for beer, entrusting the Zuni vets at The Monk's Kettle to win her over, and they do: "Anyone can handle ordering food here. Have a house-ground Niman burger on a soft bun ($11) with crisp, skinny fries. It arrived cooked a perfect medium-rare ... Blackboards with chalk separate the kitchen from the rest of the room, and patrons write poems or beer suggestions or draw pictures on them. The Monk’s Kettle is that kind of place — rigorous in its mission and casual and affordable in its demeanor. The operation might just convert a few wine drinkers, if they can elbow their way in." [SFE]

In his Sunday review of Luce, Michael Bauer echoes many common sentiments about Dominique Crenn's Cal-Ital restaurant in the InterContinental Hotel in a 2.5 star review, namely that the hotel vibe is just too strong: "It's a modern, pleasant space that can't quite shake the feel of a corporate restaurant, with its impossibly high ceilings, alternating marble and dark wood floors and curved glass wall ... Unfortunately, for all [Crenn's] talent, some dishes seem a little dated - a little too high-end hotel That diminishes her solid grasp of lusty flavors in dishes such as the onion and Grana Padano soup with a rich, creamy texture punctuated by chewy nibs of farro, enhanced with a drizzle of parsley oil and a topping of crisp baby calamari." [Chron]

Patricia Unterman tries to get the word out about a possibly-dying hidden gem in the Richmond, where Layalay and its "voluptuous appetizer service" are relegated to the No Man's Land of a residential block: "I found out about Layaly from a reader, Darcy Fink, who sent me an e-mail with a sense of urgency. It took me five months to get there. Now, after several visits, I understand the reason for her tone. Layaly is so exceptional, yet so underappreciated, that she must have feared for its life. Yet the restaurant continues to delight. The food is impeccably fresh and alive, the surroundings warm and inviting." [SFE]

Mandy Erickson takes the Sunday review, and doles out a deuce to Burlingame's Archipelago, where the French-Filipino fusion is still working out the kinks: "Out of five visits to the restaurant, the first two meals were top notch, quality slipped on the third, and the fourth and fifth saw mixed results ... When Archipelago is good, it's great. I'm hoping that the disappointments of the last couple of visits were due to a rocky adolescent phase, and that soon the restaurant will settle into producing consistently terrific meals." [Chron]

Sure mojitos are dandy, but still no decent Cuban eateries can be had in the Bay, as Nicholas Boer has a fairly unenthusiastic two stars for Alameda's Havana: "... nobody is pretending that Havana is serving up authentic fare. The food has a tropical edge, and the official description is California-Cuban. At its best, this translates into a light and flavorful cuisine; other times it seems haphazard, both in taste and presentation." Upshot: while it's refreshing to get something different in the 'hood, cocktails and bar bites are the best options. [CCT]

For her review this week, Patricia Unterman thinks outside the restaurant box and heads to AT&T Park to take a look at the new crop of vendors at the Giants game. The drink options continue to balloon—50 brands of beer, 98 kinds of wine—and Unterman's highlights include a sliced-to-order Vienna brisket sandwich, a pulled pork sandwich, strawberry shortcake, and "the best piece of food in the whole stadium, the Chicago dog." [SFE]

Seeing as how it was one of six Bay Area restaurants to nab two Michelin stars but since lost the man who got them (Christopher Kostow) to another two-star, Mountain View's Chez TJ should be the subject of plenty of intrigue as Bruno Chemel settles in. Metroactive kicks off the review parade. The good: "Chemel has some serious chops and he aims to keep those two stars ... He's definitely swinging for the fences at Chez TJ. While I found some dishes too spare and cerebral, Chez TJ remains an exciting place to eat under Chemel." The bad: "Service at Chez TJ is precise and efficient, but it left me cold. I don't expect a song and dance, but when you drop the kind of money you do at Chez TJ a little warmth and personality would be nice." [Metroactive]

Los Bauer finally makes his way to Bar Jules, and the personal Hayes Valley gem— precisely the type of restaurant Bauer loves—gets 2.5 stars: "In this 38-seat space down the block from Suppenkuche on Hayes Street, [Jessica Boncutter has] created an intimate haven, much like Dennis Leary's Canteen in the city or Rudy Mihal's Odyssey in Windsor ... To enjoy the total experience, diners need to have an open mind and trust the chef, which isn't a hard thing to do once you've realized that there's rarely a clunker on the menu." [Chron]

In another review extolling the virtues of a great neighborhood restaurant across the Bay (we're sensing a pattern in Oakland), Nicholas Boer has a glowing three stars for the offshoot of Potrero Hill's Aperto, Bellanico: "Today's neighborhood restaurants continue to get more sophisticated, just as they become more relaxed. At Bellanico, the combination draws in families, older couples and young foodies from the surrounding Oakland's Glenview neighborhood. We should all have such a place we can walk to, but if you don't, Bellanico is worth the drive ... A neighborhood trattoria needs more than good food, of course, to succeed. It needs warm personalities, and the servers — dressed in black — on both my visits were sparkling: lighthearted and welcoming without being intrusive." [CCT]

Patricia Unterman takes a stroll across the Bay to Flora, and like so many other reviewers before her, find plenty of positives at the neighborhood fave while wondering if Oakland is the new Brooklyn, given Flora's newfound success: "...real estate malaise has not kept the crowds away from Flora. It’s a bona fide hot spot, crashingly noisy at night when the curved bar and all the tables are packed, and pleasantly buzzing at lunch, my favorite time to go ... nothing about this big, airy room seems over designed. Flora feels very East Bay casual, handcrafted and appealing." [SFE]

The Bauer files in from Santa Rosa's Stark's, and in bestowing 2.5 stars upon the modern steakhouse, he reminds everyone that more often than not, bells and whistles do not a great steakhouse make: " Back in the previous steakhouse heyday, diners simply ordered their preferred cut. These days, few things are straightforward. Would you like a 16-ounce rib-eye ($32) corn-fed steak from Brandt? A 16-ounce grass-fed rib-eye ($34) from Uruguay? Or how about an American Kobe bavette steak ($28) from Snake River Farms? It's hard to choose, because they're all prepared so well. Waiters go into so much detail about how some steaks are wet-aged for 35 days, while others are dry-aged on the premises that my eyes glaze over. Just bring me the beef." [Chron]

Josh Sens files his monthly review from his hometown of Oakland, where he's rooting for Flora to overcome its missteps to flourish (bloom, if you will) into a neighborhood gem: "Whether Flora would stand out equally in other neighborhoods is difficult to gauge. Some restaurants are inseparable from their surroundings. As an Oakland resident—frustrated by the city's floundering and personally invested in its improvements (no, I don't own a restaurant, but I'd like the streets to be slightly safer)—I was probably more tolerant of Flora's misses...I'm susceptible to sentiment. But I've also dined at enough subpar Oakland restaurants to recognize when one is doing most things right." [SFM]

Like so many others, Patricia Unterman is in love with everything about Piccino, from its Dogpatch setting (a "hidden urban oasis" in a "sunny microneighborhood") to the actual fare: "If the world associates Dungeness crab, sourdough and chardonnay with San Francisco, actual residents consider salad, pizza and a glass of pinot as the real iconic meal. Piccino executes the latter with conviction...While few would cross town for a salad (except me and maybe Alice Waters), many travel the world to find their favorite pizza...A Piccino pizza has a sexy, crisp, thin crust and restrained toppings that balance flavor and texture in proper proportion." [SFE]

The Bauer has a mere two stars for Pat Kuleto's Waterbar. Aside from some ups and downs, including the service—"the waiters have an annoying TMI (too much information) habit"—MB seems to enjoy his time at Fishneyland for the most part, until he gets a sucker table away from the view: "However, there's one thing that could bring the mood down at Waterbar; it's neither the service nor the food, but surprisingly, it's where you are seated. The rear dining room is much less enticing ... With its low ceilings, the room feels cramped and a little claustrophobic, especially when you've just walked through the main dining room with its high ceilings and bay views. Without the view, the allure of Waterbar diminishes significantly." [Chron]

"Cognitive dissonance" is the way Nicholas Bauer describes the Refuge, the upscale pastrami lounge in San Carlos with a look inspired by David Lynch films. The glowing 3.5-star review is not only a rave, but an intriguing one: "But this is more than a meal. It's a rich cultural experience. The pastrami, thick hand-carved slices, rivals any found on my deli tour of New York City ... While the Refuge is, as its name implies, a haven for the modern world, Levin tucks another meaning inside: It's a place where endangered dishes get full protection ... That's the beauty of the Refuge. It's all about serving food that chefs actually love to eat, not the precious dishes they cook for others night after night. If the Refuge were located in a metropolis, it would be packed past midnight with hungry chefs just off work." [CCT]

In a special two-part series at Kuletoville (next week is Waterbar), The Bauer first takes aim at Epic Roasthouse, giving the meat half of the $27 million project its expected three stars. Anything less than a tres probably would have been a big letdown for Jan Birnbaum, Pat Kuleto and Co., but Bauer isn't completely smitten: "Is it worth the price? It depends ... Dining at Epic Roasthouse is an event, but not for the faint of appetite. The menu is designed to hit every conceivable taste: crudo, salumi, salads, hearty soups, steaks, chops and more chops. It also offers just about everything you'd find in a seafood house, including Dungeness crab and wood oven-roasted whole fish ($29). I would definitely come back again - where else can you find this view? - although I have quibbles with a few things. One is the design. I think Kuleto may have veered a little too far to the Disney side of things." [Chron]

Nick Boer weathers gum-chewing service at Movida, "Livermore's most exciting restaurant" (tallest midget?), to find a very talented Michael Mina vet in the kitchen, behind a pretentious setting: "Still, giving in isn't so easy, even with the oversized wine glasses (ostentatiously etched with a Movida logo), mood lighting (flickering candles and bulbous chandeliers that go dim-bright-dim), and glossy 2-pound menus ... With a multiplex and performance art center across the street, the noshing concept is a great way to gather or regroup before or after a show. But don't wait; the food is spirited enough to create its own special occasion." Upshot: 2.5 stars. [CCT]

Part of us has always wondered why a chain like Ruth’s Chris Steak House perennially sits atop OpenTable's most popular restaurant list alongside the likes of the Slanted Door and Kokkari, and it would appear that, even with a $50 gift card in hand, a very blunt Patricia Unterman wonders the same thing: "Wine is overpriced, as are cocktails, such as the $11.25 Chopin martinis. In the end, the cost of this dinner for two with one glass of wine and one cocktail came to more than $200 with tip. Is a dinner at Ruth’s Chris worth it? No. A $50 credit puts it in the ballpark, but only if you hold yourself to one glass of wine or a cocktail." [SFE]