The Other Critics

Bauer Says Yes to Boot & Shoe Service; Patti U. *Hearts* the Heartfelt Fare at Hakka

Boot and Shoe Service's whole nettle pizza.
Boot and Shoe Service’s whole nettle pizza. Photo: Michael Bauer

• Right on schedule, and in keeping with his enduring, passionate love for pizza, Michael Bauer files his review of Oakland’s Boot and Shoe Service, the spinoff of Charlie Hallowell’s successful Pizzaiolo. He says the food, to which he gives three stars, is just as good as at the original restaurant — especially the burrata and the nettle pizza. But he jokes that the only thing missing from the service is “If Hallowell took a cue from the name of the restaurant so I could have my shoes reheeled and polished while I stuffed my face with pizza.” [Chron]

• Patricia Unterman sings the praises of the traditional Hakka cuisine at Hakka Restaurant in the Outer Richmond, especially loving the chicken with preserved greens, which has to be ordered a day ahead: “A flavorful yellow feathered chicken is stuffed with cabbage, mushrooms, pork and preserved vegetable, and long roasted to moist tenderness.” [Examiner]

• And finally, Sara Deseran at 7x7 files a mini-review of Barbacco, praising the authentically Italian setting and food, but noting the resident ‘wine enthusiast’ douche factor of the FiDi: “Showing off his vast wine knowledge to the other, one of them pointed to the list: ‘This bottle that I like is from Sicily,’ he said a little too loudly. ‘Have you ever heard of that place?’” [7x7]

Bauer Says Yes to Boot & Shoe Service; Patti U. *Hearts* the Heartfelt Fare at