Reviews For HRD Coffee Shop, Gilberth's, Dixie, More

Jesse Hirsch finds that with most dishes at SoMa's HRD Coffee Shop, the sum is better than its parts. See the stray piece of char siu from a "satisfying," "volcanic" Chinese breakfast burrito: "unnaturally pink and dry, reminiscent of Panda Express-style takeout meat." Still, he's not surprised there are lines here all the time: "the food is crazy cheap, the portions are trucker-ready and the menu is quirky and playful," and he'd whole-heartedly recommend the spicy pork burrito: "Sprouts and cucumber were fresh and cooling, and the pork was tender enough, but pairing the kimchee with sour cream and sweet kiwi bits really made this burrito shine." [Examiner]

Anna Roth likes a lot of the food at Gilberth's, but she finds service is "slow at best and borderline-incompetent at worst." The plantain chips, lamb-chorizo burger, Brussels sprouts, and alligator tacos are all worth trying, so she's sad the servers seem to kill the restaurant: "It's a shame, because with a little more polish, Gilberth's could easily become a small-plates-and-drinks destination restaurant." [SF Weekly]

After three months of visits to Dixie in the Presidio, SFBG's Virginia Miller thinks the restaurant still "struggles to find cohesion." The decor is "bland" despite remodeling attempts to the contrary, and she had "nearly condescending, cold service" on one visit. Some dishes are outstanding, like the red miso black cod ("so good it was the one dish I reordered"), but clunkers like the Dixie chopped salad soften her excitement: "Dixie's musical, New Southern vision is among my dream restaurant concepts but in actuality feels incongruent and out-of-sync despite supreme moments of taste." [SFBG]

THE ELSEWHERE: Chron's Nicholas Boer slaps a non-shocking two stars on American Oak in Alameda, Marin IJ digs the Pacific Rim flavors at Jason's Restaurant in Greenbrae, The Merc joins the love fest for Hopscotch in Oakland with a three star review, and EBX is totally hot for Hot Italian in Emeryville.