Mr. Bauer is impressed with the renovation at Chambers Eat + Drink, the restaurant formerly known as Bambuddha Lounge at the Phoenix Hotel. He calls the design “cool,” and says “It’s an equal mix of rock ‘n’ roll, mid-century modern and L.A. chic,” but he’s a little less impressed with the food from chef Trevor Ogden. He calls several salads and a gnocchi and burrata dish “overworked,” and he says the “inherent weakness” of the food was proven in the burger, which had too much stuff piled on it and stood “more than five inches high.” (We’d argue that’s kind of common among burgers, but we digress.) He still says it tasted good, and he compliments the Kobe tri-tip and Smokin’ Salmon dishes, as well as the vadouvan spiced nuts, which he calls a perfect cocktail snack. All told: two and a half stars. [Chron, Earlier slideshow]
