Paul Reidinger is uncharacteristically quick to make it to the new Bluestem Brasserie, and he finds himself in agreement with Bauer on at least one thing: It’s all about pastry chef James Ormsby’s desserts. While he finds the halibut pretty good and the calf’s liver serviceable, his charcuterie was over-chilled, and he finds the over-attentive service a bit like “hovering helicopter parents.” The desserts, though, he says are well “worth the wait and all the water refills,” especially the Honolulu Hangover. [SFBG]
Jonathan Kauffman follows along behind Bauer and Unterman this week with his review of Boxing Room, and he also counts himself a fan. “Expat Louisianans are far from lax critics,” he notes, “and [chef Justin Simoneaux] has to prove that he can stir up a proper dark roux for his gumbo and get right with his greens.” He says Simoneaux’s dirty rice is “fantastic” and seems to admire his gumbo skills. Unlike Bauer, he doesn’t have much nice to say about the desserts, and he complains of a porchetta that tasted more like a “lightly seasoned pork chop.” As for his favorite items: the celery salad, the boudin balls, and the hush puppies. He concludes, “Though Boxing Room’s food doesn’t always make that leap from good to Jesus-that’s-good, Simoneaux cooks without cliché.” [SF Weekly]
