Morton's Gets The Zero, You Weren't Going Anyway; MORE

After yesterday's fuss about a big Bauer zero on the cusp of explosion, the winner stands up today in the Datebook update of Morton's Steakhouse. Now Bauer really is the most fun when he's a little ticked off, and the review is riddled with delightful snippets like this:

"When I finally did start on my main course, I realized I needed to offer a second apology to any food I've criticized in the past year; by comparison, everything I've had at other places was French Laundry quality. The steak was burned and acrid, and the lobster tail was mushy, as if it had been frozen and thawed multiple times."

In summary: "We ate very little and took the meat to the dog." Morton's is left with that infamous zero for food and a grand total of one star, as bland and lonesome as its leathery $10 baked potato. [Chron]

The Kauff Man digs into Danny Bowien's 15-deep Mission Chinese Food menu this week and thoroughly enjoys getting his tounge blasted off by the young chef's dalliance with authentic Chinese food. The dishes take turns making him "feel like I'd just sucked on a vibrator," or "like licking a spark plug," and even "as if you decided to watch a Russian ballet with the sound off and Iron Maiden cranked up." But really, "The result of his hyperkinetic experimentation is a rich, spicy, palate-slamming food. Sometimes Bowien's restlessness ruins a dish. Sometimes you wish he'd try a little delicacy. And some of his food is so good he seems to be inventing a new culinary genre. It's not East-West fusion: It's more like detonation." [SF Weekly]

Reidinger faces the "crush of youth" at Izakaya Sozai in the Sunset, finding "The kitchen's best dishes seem to be the simplest and the most Japanese, and maybe this shouldn't surprise us." Then, "Taking chances does raise the risk of failure, and Sozai's kitchen takes more chances than most." See that funky fig tempura dessert on the menu? Don't go there. [SFBG]

THE ELSEWHERE: The Merc likes kosher reinterpreted at Kitchen Table in Mountain View, followed by an izakaya outing to Sasa in Walnut Creek; EBX gets all Berkeley on us at Cinnaholic and Ironwood BBQ; the Marin IJ climbs 50 winding steps to revisit Hilltop 1892 in Novato; Bar Bites spots a jackalope at Rancho Nicasio; and Bargain Bite gets a grass-fed burger for $4.95 at Boulevard Burger in San Leandro.

[Photo: GoThere]

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Mission Chinese Food

2234 Mission Street, , CA 94110 (415) 863-2800 Visit Website

Morton's Steakhouse

400 Post Street, San Francisco, CA