Mr. Bauer updates us on the state of Berkeley’s nineteen-year-old Rivoli, and it sounds like the years aren’t treating the place so well. While chef Wendy Brucker may have been able to pull off crazy combinations of things on a plate in the past, he now finds several dishes that are “discombobulated” with “flavors … in disarray.” He balks at some lamb and pork meatballs cluttered with “polenta, cranberry beans, artichokes, soft-cooked eggs and a caper, celery and mint relish.” He says the Caesar salad is still good, though, and the chocolate bread pudding. All told: two stars, and we’re betting it gets dropped from the Top 100, which will come out in May this year. [Chron]
