The Other Critics

Bauer Says Marin’s Murray Circle Is Still ‘Plenty Good Enough’; Patti U. Finally Gets to Comstock

Photo: Courtesy of Murray Circle

Mr. Bauer returns to Murray Circle, the restaurant at Cavallo Point Lodge from chef Joseph Humphrey with a “breathtaking setting” on which Bauer bestowed three stars back in ‘08. He says that some of the dishes are “missing the sparks” and “lacking the edge” he remembers, but he says the duck and beef entrées he sampled were still strong, and the place is still “plenty good enough to lure me back.” All told: three stars, but no renewing of the three and a half stars for food. [Chron]

Still new to the whole artisanal cocktail thing, Ms. Unterman finally makes it around to Comstock Saloon and calls it “an odd plot twist [that] bartenders have taken on the role of chefs with a complex mise en place of house-made syrups and infusions, seasonally sourced components and even customized ice cubes.” Why yes, Patti! Where have you been? Her cocktail taste tends toward the fruity, like the Pisco Punch and the Hop Toad Cocktail. “Call them girls’ drinks,” she writes, “but I enjoy being a girl at Comstock. She enjoys snacking on the “inexplicably satisfying American concoction” of the cheddar crackers, and she also notes that “dinner is a pleasure,” especially calling out the roasted game hen, little gem salad, macaroni casserole, and the oft-mentioned beef and marrow stew. [Examiner]

Bauer Says Marin’s Murray Circle Is Still ‘Plenty Good