Four years after giving it two and a half stars, Michael Bauer revisits Angèle in Napa, and says it’s now one of the area’s “most exciting destinations,” to the tune of three stars. He says there’s some disconnect between the “elevated” food and the casual atmosphere, but he loves the “beautiful” asparagus salad, and the roulade of guinea hen “tightly wrapped in house-cured pancetta and arranged next to boudin noir — some of the best blood sausage I’ve had.” [Chron]
Ms. Unterman dropped in on a private event at San Mateo’s Champagne Seafood Restaurant (not exactly the most professional choice of occasion for a review, but OK, Patti), and she says the newly rebuilt interior is more “posh” and “upscale” than its predecessor in the same space (88 E. Fourth Street), Joy Luck. She writes, “the best dishes were a double-rich squab broth, elegantly clear but rich in flavor; a sublime Pacific lobster, its sweet flesh removed from its tail and steamed in a snowy egg-white custard, and bite-sized fresh-water bass filets wrapped around yellow chives and ginger, served with wok-seared snap peas.” [Examiner]
