Jonathan Kauffman beats Bauer to the punch with his review of Sons & Daughters, the small, reasonably priced, high-end eatery up on Nob Hill. He writes of co-chefs Teague Moriarty and Matt McNamara, “They are two guys in their 20s with cooking-school hubris and modest résumés… yet their cooking has a polish many long-timers never achieve.” Also, he notes, “Their aim doesn’t seem to be shock… but to avoid clichés, to keep casting about for new ways to present the same local, seasonal ingredients we all hold so dear.” He loves a squab dish, as well as a pork belly paired with sous vide pork tenderloin, and says that “even the failures were 75 percent successes.” He notes, though, that the service still needs a little work, and he wasn’t such a fan of the scallop with veal-jasmine tea that Bauer took to immediately and already wrote up. (See? This is what we’re talking about, JKauff! Dialogue!) [SF Weekly]
Paul Reidinger veers off his off-the-beaten-path path to review one of the summer’s major openings, Prospect. He begins discussing the large, modern space as it compares to its older sister restaurant, Boulevard: “Prospect, by contrast… appears to be unconnected to any past, only to a future — a prospect? — that might politely be described as deracinated.” [Translator’s Note: de·rac·in·ate -verb (used with object), -nat·ed, -nat·ing. 1. to pull up by the roots; uproot; extirpate; eradicate.] Of Ravi Kapur’s food he writes, “The flavors are bold, the juxtapositions artful, and the execution solid.” He especially compliments the seafood dishes, as well as the pork cheeks with ancient grains, and the tempura egg and mushroom dish. Overall, he has nothing negative say at all, and this is an uncharacteristically unequivocal review from Reidinger. [SFBG]
