Much the way Mr. Bauer has been kind of tough of Charlie Palmer’s other Bay Area restaurant, Dry Creek Kitchen, his review of the new Burritt Tavern on Union Square isn’t that kind either. He says he “want[s] to love” the place, but it was hard finding enough to like about it besides the decor. Despite the menu’s claims of local sourcing and green-market inspirations, he doesn’t find much evidence of it in the dishes — he likes the 36-hour braised lamb shoulder okay, but says of a Basque-flavored Pacific sea bass dish, “[it was] about as exciting as a politician campaigning in a senior citizens home.” (He’s also got a 1970s-inspired zinger about the hotel lobby, through which you have to walk to get to the restaurant, that it’s “whiter than Donny Osmond’s teeth.”) But what really pushes him over the edge is the fact that they serve Starbucks coffee instead of using a local roaster. “Really?” Bauer cries. “It raises questions about the restaurant’s sincerity; featuring Starbucks is about as authentic as Chevy’s Fresh Mex campaign.” After all the similes, the verdict: two stars. [Chron]
