Bauer Demotes Murray Circle A Touch; Reidinger Suffers For UPN Pizza; Kauff Calls Out Tacko's WASPiness, More!

The Bauer Ball rolls into chef Justin Everett's more casual new guard at Murray Circle and isn't quite as impressed as he was when he gave former chef Joseph Humphrey's menu three stars—even though they got rid of the old "incongruous" tablecloths, "the service has continued to improve," and the "entire aura is retro and wonderful." The "beautiful combination" of Everett's bouillabaisse is a high point, but overall the food "might not reach the heights it once did." 2.5 stars. [Chron]

Reidinger files a keeper on Una Pizza Napoletana, calling it "probably the closest thing we have to a food-art installation." Unlike anyone else who's reviewed the place, he says "service is excellent," and "the pies, despite their stark lack of trappings are worth waiting for and even suffering (a little) for." [SFBG]

Now have a chuckle at Il Kauff's title for his review of the Marina's new Tacko: "The Nantucket Gringo Take on the Taco." He defends owner Nick Fasanella a bit, noting "all manner of cooks have been torquing the taco to fit the contours of their culinary heritage," then he launches into a brief history of the gabacho (white person) taco. Sadly, "Tacko's sole Nantucket dish, a lobster roll ($18), was no testament to East Coast cuisine" and none of the tacos measure up to what you can get in a taco truck. The high point—besides the "pièce de resistance": Baja tacos "Nick's way"— is an "ultra-gabacho California-style burrito" stuffed with fries and melted cheese. It's "genuinely hard to stop eating." [SF Weekly]

The Elsewhere: The EBX's Birdsall goes for super authentic (and organic) Thai at Richmond's Ran Kanom, The Merc discovers a new filled niche at Tender Greens in Walnut Creek, Marin IJ clarifies that the new Food Truck Crush is not a bunch of "roach coaches," Bargain Bite checks out the new cafe at the JCC and Bar Bites makes the unsurprising discovery that Bourbon Steak's bar food is not cheap.

[Photo: Chron/Thor Swift]