The Other Critics

Countering Bauer, Unterman Adores Bluestem Brasserie

Photo: Grub Street

Though Patricia Unterman has long held firm to the doctrine of reviewing only restaurants she likes, and never saying anything particularly negative, she isn’t always quite as gushingly positive as she is about Bluestem Brasserie. She raves, “Now downtown has a go-to place with a bar, lounges, TVs and indoor and outdoor dining, nestled in the heart of the action, at the beginning of sleek Yerba Buena Lane.” She recommends everything from the “grand plat” of charcuterie to the coq au vin special on Tuesdays, and like Bauer and Reidinger before her, she’s a huge fan of James Ormsby’s “whimsical” desserts. She also has a better time with the ribeye steak than Bauer, but calling it “chewy,” as a good thing. And she concludes that the restaurant “comes off like a 21st-century version of the sadly departed Original Joe’s, moderate in price, meat-centric, unpretentious and indispensable.” [Examiner]

Countering Bauer, Unterman Adores Bluestem Brasserie