Bauer Gives Sons & Daughters a Three Star Upgrade, and More

Father Bauer gives his three star blessing to Sons & Daughters this week. Chef-owners, Matt McNamara and Teague Moriarty "have matured nicely" since they opened last year. "Just about every course has an obscure ingredient...there's lots of activity on each plate...[and] the flavors come together almost seamlessly." Plus "service has come together, too." In short, The restaurant has grown up considerably in a year's time. Sons & Daughters is becoming more like Fathers & Mothers." 3 stars [Chron]

The Untermagnifique says three-month old Criolla in the Castro is "an ebullient, happening, well-run cafe from chef Randy Lewis." "The heart and soul of the menu" is chicken and "tender, golden, butter-batter" waffles, shrimp and grits "sings" and stuffed mirtillon is a "go-to" as well. In short, Criolla Kitchen "is a hit." [Examiner]

Reidinger thinks Boxing Room is way less snooty than its predecessor Citizen Cake. He calls the remodel a "wonder of woodiness" with a "gorgeous" "masterwork" of a front door. He notes "considerable overlap" with the fare at Criolla (reviewed above), and finds Boxing Room's "upmarketiness" to be the most considerable difference. The Monterey squid dish makes a "voluptuous faux-stew." He thinks the fried-oyster po'boy is the richest thing he's ever had. For dessert he says the beignets are "fine" and calls the pralines and cream sundae a "livlier choice." [SFBG]

The Healthy Kauff tries out two-month-old Sichuan Home for all of us. For starters he tastes something new to "inland cuisine," a "grassy, oceanic undertone" from kombu in the "special fish stew." The restaurant is "hardly homey" and "the core of Sichuan Home's menu is its 'Sichuan new style food,' amalgamating influences from all over China, Thailand, and America." Some dishes can be "downright odd." He advises against the "nen yow in special sauce," and in favor of deep-fried rolls, spicy tea-smoked duck and "all the cold plates were phenomenal." While much of the restaurant "comes off as a first draft...the simple dishes showed what the chef could do when he polishes up his sentences." [SF Weekly]