Michael Bauer is less happy with the food at Nombe now that Vincent Schofield has assumed kitchen duties from former chef Nick Balla, and today’s update review downgrades the place to two stars from two and a half, with only one and a half for the food. “He’s a busy man,” Bauer writes, referring to Schofield’s simultaneous work on Taco Libre and Darwin Café, “creating three totally different menus from three cultures, and while he may have talent, something gets lost in the translation at Nombe… much of the food fell flat, or at least tasted flat.” Gone are Balla’s famed chicken wings, and in the new version, “the soy-based broth that came about halfway up the bowl had an unbalanced, acidic edge and soon turned the wings on the bottom limp.” Ramen arrived in “a timid, watery broth,” but he calls a soy marinated quail dish “the best taste of the night.” [Chron]
7x7’s Sara Deseran files the first review of Russian Hill Austrian restaurant Leopold’s, though not a ton gets said about the food. Papardelle is mentioned, by way of explaining that “Austrian food is influenced by Northern Italy,” as are “pig trotters with a poached egg and beef short ribs over mashed potatoes, all topped with delicate onion rings.” The only subjective comments: “The Rainers’ mother’s recipe for chicken soup with dumplings is flawless and leaves plenty of room for the great apple strudel.” [7x7, Earlier slideshow]
