Mr. Bauer revisits À Côté, and lets us know that despite a few bumps the last few years (including a bump off the Top 100 after a visit last year that wasn’t so awesome), the decade-old restaurant has returned to three-star territory. He compliments the off-menu Corpse Reviver No. 2 that they mixed him, the wood-oven-roasted game hen, the flatbread, and the corn, porcini and fava side dish, all of which left him confident the place is back “on its game.” [Chron]
Also in the Chron, Nicholas Boer treks to Walnut Creek for Vesu, where he says chef Robert Sapirman creates dishes that “are like a tidy tower of thoughtfully wrapped gifts. Once you dig in, you can’t stop. All told, two and a half stars, with props to the cocktails too. [Chron]
Patti U., meanwhile, is the first reviewed to hit up Ippuku, the new shochu bar in Berkeley. She recommends, “Start with chilled Japanese salads. Finish with grilled rice triangles scented with yuzu, and house-made pickles. And then have one of the best desserts in town, a green tea soft-serve sundae. [Examiner]
Also this week, she takes first crack at barely one-month-old Bruce Hill pizzeria Zero Zero, writing that the margherita “has a crisp, if elastic, crust, painted with basil-infused tomato puree, puddles of buffalo mozzarella and the gleam of olive oil. Perfection,” and of the Castro pizza she says it “made up in flavor what it lacked in crispness.” Also she loves the pappardelle “coated in rich pork sugo.” [Examiner]
