• The expanded Tribune dining section launched today and features an enthusiastic 3-star review of GT Fish & Oyster by Phil Vettel. He believes the small-plates menu manages to balance the “expected…and the wholly unexpected” with ease. The foie gras and shrimp terrine is “laced with Sichuan peppercorns and paired with apricot chutney,” and is “as interesting a surf-and-turf combo as I’ve encountered in some time.” Elsewhere, the presentation of the king crab legs is “genius,” and it’d even “be a shame” to skip the desserts. [Trib]
• Though some dishes, like the fish cake, make it easy to describe Union Sushi + Barbeque Bar “as a disaster,” David Tamarkin found enough to “like” about the place to give it three stars out of five. He admits that the “raw stuff was generally less successful,” but most everything coming off the grill works. That includes the chicken thigh and jumbo shrimp skewers, “both of which arrive charred and crispy outside, with plenty of juices locked within.” [TOC]
• Daniel Zemans falls for the Hawaiian-inspired burger at sola. The burger is topped with bacon, arugula, caramelized onions, pineapple juice, and cambozola cheese; still, “there’s no question the beef is the star of the show.” Even the fries have a “particularly crisp exterior wrapped around the ideal soft interior.” [Serious Eats]
