The Unpredictable Kauff writes up his informed jaunt through Sons & Daughters, the two month old baby from chefs Teague Moriarty and Matt McNamara in the TenderNob: "They are two guys in their 20s with cooking-school hubris and modest résumés...yet their cooking has a polish many long-timers never achieve." And there's this kicker of a closing sentiment: "Their aim doesn't seem to be shock — some high-minded desire to reinvent the way we experience dining — but to avoid clichés, to keep casting about for new ways to present the same local, seasonal ingredients we all hold so dear. There are other ways to celebrate summer than an heirloom tomato salad. Too many chefs don't bother to try." [SF Weekly]
Reidinger takes a break from divey Mexican and Chinese eats to try out the "multilayered shock" that is Prospect. He finds the Boulevard spawn's lower prices are "illusory" due to smaller portion sizes, "But there can be no arguing with the actual food coming out of executive chef Ravi Kapur's kitchen. The flavors are bold, the juxtapositions artful, and the execution solid." [SFBG]
We see a bit of what Grub's Barman is talking about with the lead into The Bauer Movement's A Coté revisit: "When I took the first sip of the Corpse Reviver 2...I knew A Coté was still on its game." Everything falls into step after the cocktail: "Matt Colgan, who was a Chronicle Rising Star Chef in 2002, has pretty much stayed the course...The flatbread ($13) is exactly what it's supposed to be...the mussels bathed in a milky broth...feels as current as the day it first appeared." Even the corn side and desserts are pitch-perfect. So Bauer Town files away his second tres of the week. [Chron]
THE ELSEWHERE: The Merc gets spicy in Danville at Maria Maria; Metro SV gets lard-free Southern fare at Bayonne in San Jose; Marin IJ reveals the secret of Arun Thai; the EBX likes Slow in Berkeley; Bargain Bite hits up century-old Hotel Utah Saloon; Bar Bites likes the Dungeness crab tacos at One Market; and last but definitely not least, the second Datebook review gives 2.5 stars to Vesu in Walnut Creek.