REVIEW - Nico

Another one of Michael Bauer's (SF food critic) shabby recommendations. Funnily enough, I was in a bar Saturday night when MB's name came up, and the word from the barkeeper was that "everyone knows who he is ... he's a failed sportswriter".

Anyhow, the former sportswriter may visit a lot of the Bay Area's restaurants, but in my humble view he's wrong more often than he's right about those places.

Despite his fulsome praise for Nico, we found the 5 course set menu to be full of uninteresting, mostly weak tastes.

The first course - Scallops with Perigord truffles was inoffensive, but lacking note. Next, came an endive salad with pureed pear and another ingredient that neither of us can remember, or care about. Then, black cod that was barely cooked - which might have been what the chef was going for, for some inexplicable reason. If we'd wanted sushi we'd have gone elsewhere. Fourth, we got chicken cooked two ways - neither of them revealing much energy or taste. Finally, a chocolate mousse, with meringue. Probably the best of the five courses.

Thankfully, I had the wine pairing and a beautiful chauffeur.