Pinch-hitting for Bauer in two-star territory this week is Carey Sweet, who files a review of the newish Mill Valley music venue and restaurant Sweetwater Café. The kitchen is the new home of former Pizza Antica and Café Des Amis chef Gordon Drysdale. He calls what he’s doing at Sweetwater, “Party food that’s farmers’ market driven and not deep fryer driven,” and Sweet says the atmosphere is “buzzy and fun.” There’s counter service, but apparently servers will also take orders from tables, and Sweet says most of the food is “impressive,” including a well composed mushroom soup, and the signature sliders. All told, though, it still gets two stars. [Chron]
Over at the Weekly, Matthew Stafford files the first review of Troya Fillmore, and he likes it. He says that the Mediterranean dishes get the “tarting-up treatment,” and while some dishes don’t quite work, “others seem positively invigorated.” There are eighteen meze options on the menu, and he especially recommends the parchment-baked fish. Of the main dishes, he’s a fan of the manti or “marble-sized dumplings” which “have tender casings wrapped around a rich, herb-ribboned minced-beef filling and were especially tasty with its drizzle of paprika butter and puckery yogurt afterbite.” All in all, he says the new Troya location is “a fine setting for a group of friends, a platter of mezes, and a bottle of good Mediterranean vino.” [SF Weekly]
And last but not least, the Guardian’s Virginia Miller offers up some recommendations for summer bites, including a delicious sounding breakfast biscuit sandwich we didn’t know about at 15 Romolo, and the pickled hot link at Show Dogs. [SFBG]
