The Other Critics

Kauffman Says Park Tavern is Already a Success; Sens Updates Coi With Four Stars; Miller Digs the New Soda Fountain at Citizen Cake

Jennifer Puccio's 'poulet rouge' is the North Beach counterpart to her <a href='poulet vert' at Marlowe." width="400" height="400" style="width:100%;height:auto;" fetchPriority="high" >
Jennifer Puccio’s ‘poulet rouge’ is the North Beach counterpart to her ’poulet vert’ at Marlowe. Photo: Brian Smeets/Grub Street

Huzzah! Jonathan Kauffman beats Michael Bauer to reviewing Park Tavern (1652 Stockton), the big new North Beach brasserie from the Marlowe team of Anna Weinberg and chef Jennifer Puccio (Bauer’s review is due this Sunday). He calls the New York-y design with all its subway tile and mosaic tile “a rich man’s idea of casual dining,” and food-wise it is “already a successful restaurant.”

He loves most of the bar snacks (though says the pork belly bites veer “a little too far into the Paula Deen canon”), the re-worked Waldorf salad, the “poulet rouge,” and the pork chop “all smoky, charred fat and deep-hued meat.” The scallops? A little “vague,” he says. But he also loves the delicious Birthday Cake, an eight-inch-high coconut layer cake that is “a Thiebaud fantasy rarely realized by real-life bakers.” [SF Weekly, Earlier Slideshow]

Also, we neglected to note yesterday in our post about San Francisco Magazine’s new website that critic Josh Sens also updated his thoughts on Coi in recent weeks, to the tune of four stars. Oddly, it’s only a capsule review, but he writes that the eleven-course tasting menu “provides for a night of fresh discoveries.” He mentions an abalone dish with squid ink and farro as “the world’s subtlest meeting of land and sea,” and he also gives props to the desserts being done by newly hired pastry chef Matt Tinder. [SF Mag]

And finally, Virginia Miller at the Guardian does another trio of capsule reviews for Jasper’s Corner Tap, Pisco Latin Lounge, and Elizabeth Falkner’s (revamped) Citizen Cake and Ice Cream Parlor. Of the latter, she writes of Falkner’s “dreamy desserts,” “lush cakes,” and excellent new soda fountain offerings, including floats with her “all-time favorite root beer, Devil’s Canyon,” which they have on tap. Also being poured are old-timey phosphates, and she recommends ordering off-menu, like a passion-fruit phosphate. Another notable new item: sourdough ice cream, which is featured in a sundae with grape syrup and nuts. She warns, though, that service hours for the savory menu aren’t exactly 11 a.m. on as stated. [SFBG]

Kauffman Says Park Tavern is Already a Success; Sens Updates Coi With Four