Michael Bauer this week updated his thoughts on Oakland’s Miss Pearl’s Jam House, and the news isn’t good. The menu took a turn from the Caribbean to New Orleans recently under chef Eddie Blyden, but all Mr. Bauer seems to like on the menu is the fire-roasted half chicken, which still “came gooey from a lightly spiced sauce.” “I’d like to report that the food does the South proud,” he writes, “but between the alternating attentive and forgetful service and the missteps in execution, I’d have to say that’s not necessarily the case.” He gave them two stars when they reopened in 2008; now they’re down to one and a half. [Chron]
Patricia Unterman, during a computer crisis that needed attending to at the Marina Apple store, stopped into Blue Barn Gourmet to comfort herself with a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich, gooey with brie and havarti and Swiss. She was thus hooked. She returned to the place for a tomato salad and a Kickin’ Chicken sandwich (we hate that name), and between the quality of the ingredients and the purse-hooks under the tables, she considers herself a fan. [Examiner]
