Jesse Hirsch swings into one of our city’s unsung little neighborhood bistros, Alamo Square Seafood Grill (803 Fillmore), which Mr. Bauer last reviewed when they opened, in 1998, to the tune of two stars. Hirsch finds the place to be one of the best values, bistro-wise, in town, if not always with perfect food. Crazily, they offer a $14.50, three-course prix fixe which is always chef’s choice and changes daily. His blackened trout was a little salty and his cauliflower soup under-seasoned, “But: 14 bucks!” He notes the quality at Chez Papa is no better at over twice the price for a similar prix fixe, and on the regular menu at Alamo Square he says the mussels, escargot, frites, and bouillabaisse are all great and stupidly cheap. [Examiner]
Michael Bauer heads back to Angèle, a French-y Napa spot he’s always liked, and finds it’s just as good as before if “scaled back a bit in ambition” under new chef Scott Ekstrom. He loves a veal sweetbread appetizer, as well as a veal cheek entree and the pommes frites, and says the sea bass and a salad of marinated beets are also quite good. In the end, they retain their three stars. [Chron]
