We don't do reviews per se here at Eater, but we hear there are a few food bloggers in the Bay Area that do. Know of a blog that should be on our radar? Do share.
Canteen's booth quartet [Photo: Flickr/in praise of sardines]
1) Up first this week, Chef Ben is at Canteen, Dennis Leary's upscale hole-in-the-wall. Four booths and seven-seat counter make for a tiny restaurant that sees the great Leary oversee all aspects of the meal:
I called this posting “Make Dennis Leary Your Personal Chef” because in many ways you’ll feel like Leary is cooking just for you when you’re seated at his intimate yet sophisticated diner. Leary must be the hardest working chef of his caliber in town because he is always behind the stove preparing the meals while keeping one eye on the room, directing servers to go to a table that might need attention or alerting them to when a plate is left sitting too long."Also of note: reservations not required for brunch (but it fills quickly), and for dinner, Leary only cooks for 30 or so covers throughout the course of the night, so you might very well find yourself in an empty restaurant. [CWTSG]
2) Bauer's Pizza Friday takes the show to Oakland's own pizza oasis: Pizzaiolo. MB's advice is to weather the hour-plus waits for Charlie Hallowell's deliciousness, not to mention the, ahem, "seductive yeasty smells": "But it was worth the wait; a seductive yeasty smell emanated from an artfully irregular pizza emanated and engulfed our table. Many have dubbed this one of the best pizzas in the Bay Area, and I have to agree." [Between Meals]
3) Is there a hotter non-Keller restaurant in Napa than Ubuntu? Fresh off a three-star review from the Chron, Manresa-vet Jeremy Fox's "vegetable" restaurant—and its biodynamic garden—continues to wow: "In short, Ubuntu is a vegetarian epicure’s dream come true. First came the pleasure of ordering ANY DAMN THING I WANTED OFF THE MENU WITHOUT A RISOTTO IN SIGHT. Bliss. I kept thinking, “Is this how meat eaters feel every day of the week?” The menu itself is clean and minimal. Two “bites”, five starters, five entrees, four desserts. No muss, no fuss." [A Few Reservations]
ELSEWHERE, Not For Tourists checks out new Marina hotshot Bin 38, Slow Food Taste Life is at London Wine Bar (that place you always drive by), and as mentioned earlier, both the Bunrab crew and The FFB stopped by TWO this week.
