The Other Critics

Willie Brown Can’t Get Enough of Bourbon Steak; Reidinger Likes the ‘Kitschy Drama’ of Miss SaiGon; Kauffman Loves Haltun

Bourbon Steak
Bourbon Steak Photo: Chron

The Scoop is treating former mayor-turned-gadabout Willie Brown as an ersatz reviewer of new and old restaurants, so we suppose we will too. He beats Bauer to the punch in giving his two cents on Bourbon Steak, and his review is of course all the more charming for details like how his lady friend Sonya Molodetskaya insists on only ordering the lobster pot pie, held over from the Michael Mina days, and for the fact that Willie, himself, doesn’t eat vegetables. But he’s a huge fan of the swank remodeled space, and the filet mignon. [Scoop, Earlier]

Paul Reidinger braves Sixth Street in order to take in Miss SaiGon, the two-year-old Vietnamese place at the corner of Mission. He says, “the execution [of the food] at Miss SaiGon is sharp and assured, the flavors properly balanced and amplified, like rich sound,” but he immediately says to avoid a pork with lemon sauce that had some unwelcome pineapple. He likes the papaya salad, the garlic noodles, and the cold sesame noodles. Also he appreciates the “kitschy drama” of a plastic lady statue by the door. [SFBG]

Jonathan Kauffman informs us that San Francisco has become a magnet for Mayan-speaking Yucatecans, and that Yucatan food like that being served at Haltun Mayan Cuisine (2948 21st Street) has become a veritable sub-specialty of our diverse food city. He loves the cooking being done by chef Jesus Peralta, formerly of Mi Lindo Yucatan, saying, “Haltun’s Peralta is making the broadest, most refined menu of Yucatecan antojitos (corn-based snacks) and entrées the city has yet seen.” He calls out the cochinita pibil, which his predecessor Meredith Brody voted “best pig” in town when Peralta served it at Mi Lindo. And he also recommends the tikin-xik’ “a fat filet of fresh tilapia rubbed in an achiote-reddened marinade and baked with peppers and onions.” [SF Weekly]

Willie Brown Can’t Get Enough of Bourbon Steak; Reidinger Likes the