The Other Critics

Kauffman Likes the Sausage, Not His Dinner at Locavore; Reidinger Hits Up Beast and the Hare

Locavore
Locavore Photo: Tablehopper

Jonathan Kauffman paid a visit to Locavore (3215 Mission), which opened over in Bernal/La Lengua back in October. He notes the “straightforward California cuisine” of chef Jason Moniz, formerly of Flora in Oakland, and says that a few items, like the various house-made, Riverdog Farm sausages on the lunch menu, are “righteously good.” But despite a couple of nice appetizers, he found his dinner pretty lacking, and with a 75-minute lull between the apps and entrés, one can see how he might not want to rave. “By the time the stressed kitchen turned to our food, they’d gotten sloppy.” He finds it odd, even wrong, that the ostensibly well seasoned staff should have been so harried with a half-full dining room, and he says the fried chicken is pretty “standard-issue” and the rest of the dishes: “Nothing extraordinary.” All in all, he says, a decent neighborhood joint, not a destination. [SF Weekly]

While we were hesitant even having to open up to Paul Reidinger’s latest review given his especially egregious tangent of last week, we took a deep breath and turned the page and ah, terrific, he’s reviewing Beast and the Hare, which we haven’t heard too much about just yet. First few paragraphs are classic Reidinger: some thoughts on fashion and French industrial espionage… then by paragraph four he’s calling Beast and the Hare a “throwback” to the 90s boom of neighborhood restaurants around town. He calls the charcuterie plate “satisfying” and seems to enjoy his veal osso bucco, though he’s disappointed it doesn’t come with risotto, which he says it should. He’s also mildly warm toward the pressed duck leg, and he loves the beer ice cream they serve with the German chocolate cake. [SFBG]

Kauffman Likes the Sausage, Not His Dinner at Locavore; Reidinger Hits Up Beast