The Other Critics

Bauer Likes the View, Only Kind of Likes Food at Coppola’s New Restaurant

Photo: NBC Bay Area

As we noted when it opened last summer, Francis Ford Coppola’s new Geyserville winery is a little bit Disney, and the on-site restaurant, Rustic, doesn’t have the subtitle after it (“Francis’ Favorites“) for no reason. Michael Bauer finally makes it up for a formal review, and he finds the place is, indeed, quite the tribute to Coppola’s tastes, career, and appetite, he’s just not so sure the kitchen is executing things in a manner commensurate with Coppola’s perfectionism. He balks at the 45-item-long menu, all of which are allegedly “Francis’ favorite” dishes, saying, “The problem with endorsing so many items is that diners’ expectations increase, especially when you have such a hard-nosed reputation as a director.” And while he likes the grilled meats, like the steak Florentina, he found a roasted eggplant dish “sloppy,” and the pizzas and pastas are merely passable. All told: two stars. [Chron]

Bauer Likes the View, Only Kind of Likes Food at Coppola’s New Restaurant