Bauer Maintains Manresa's Four Stars, But Finds It Much Improved

[Photo: Flickr/foodssnob]

Leading off the Week in Reviews, the Honorable Sir Reverend Michael Bauer checked in at the recently renovated Manresa in Los Gatos, finding it even better than he left it both visually and on the plate. The service, too, has improved, he says, and he'll remember the raw milk panna cotta until his "dying day." High praise, indeed. The restaurant maintains its top four star rating, but the implication is that Bauer wishes he had room to mark it up even more. [San Francisco Chronicle]

And in what we affectionately like to call the Elsewhere, Jesse Hirsch of the EBX praises the cheap pub fare at Oakland rock venue Vitus, Christina Mueller of the Marin IJ enjoys the new chef (and the continuity) at Left Bank Brasserie in Larkspur, and the Merc finds Walnut Creek piano lounge Cypress to be a little slice of "retro heaven."