It’s a slow week in the food sections around the Bay–neither the Bay Guardian nor SF Weekly has posted any new reviews–but the good news is that some of your favorite SF food reviewers have been branching out to other cities during their summer vacations.
Michael Bauer, who has been known to discuss the wonders of New York dining, chronicles his trip to Los Angeles in this morning’s Chronicle. Like a good San Franciscan, he takes the obligatory jabs at our rivals to the south (“What’s the best way to determine the success of a restaurant in Los Angeles? Count the number of valet parking attendants outside.”) as he takes us on a tour of the City of Angels with Los Angeles magazine restaurant critic Patric Kuh. The entire article is a fascinating read, rife with thought-out, logical comparisons between the two cities:
In the Bay Area, food is the driving force of successful restaurants. But in L.A., instead of paying attention to what’s on the plate, just about everyone is rubbernecking to see who’s in the house. Wasn’t that Jake Gyllenhaal I saw at Cut, and Jason Biggs at Mozza?Unlike San Francisco, where tourists constitute a hefty percentage of the patrons at popular places, the Los Angeles dining scene is fueled by locals. The city is so spread out, for example, that it’s difficult for conventioneers downtown to get to the top restaurants without renting a car or paying their monthly mortgage payment for a taxi. People have to drive to get anywhere, so restaurants become destinations, with elaborate interiors and high prices.
It’s a slow week in the food sections around the Bay–neither the Bay Guardian nor SF Weekly has posted any new reviews–but the good news is that some of your favorite SF food reviewers have been branching out to other cities during their summer vacations.
Michael Bauer, who has been known to discuss the wonders of New York dining, chronicles his trip to Los Angeles in this morning’s Chronicle. Like a good San Franciscan, he takes the obligatory jabs at our rivals to the south (“What’s the best way to determine the success of a restaurant in Los Angeles? Count the number of valet parking attendants outside.”) as he takes us on a tour of the City of Angels with Los Angeles magazine restaurant critic Patric Kuh. The entire article is a fascinating read, rife with thought-out, logical comparisons between the two cities:
The Tablehopper in the Windy City and more reviews after the jump.
While Mr. Bauer went south, Ms. Tablehopper headed to the Midwest and took aim at Chicago’s Avec. As seems to be a trend in Chicago–that town of nouveau dining–Avec is a quintessentially “forward” space with food to match:
This modern and minimalist restaurant is a like a long shotgun space, a wooden rectangular box sporting a Scando-sauna look: large slats of wood along the walls and floors, angular wood communal tables with bench seating, and a glowing installation of green wine bottles along the far back wall.
Avec feels like “a chef’s restaurant” and evokes a response that foodies visiting San Francisco often wail: “I would totallybe a regular here if I could!” [Tablehopper]
The rest: the Chowhounds have some surprisingly negative reports on A16 but not Oakland’s Oliveto, 7x7 checks out Sebo, and down in the ‘Loin, JATBAR hits up Saigon Sandwiches, “the most famous Vietnamese sandwich joint in the Bay Area.”
