Good Food Guide to the States

For tourists who love to visit interesting restaurants while on holiday, here is my pick of six special places which I’ve enjoyed in the USA.

In which review are the following stated?

The writer let someone else choose what he ate.
The customers make an effort with their appearance.
There are contrasting dining areas.
Creative variations on a popular dish are offered.
The writer would like to have eaten much more of one dish.
The location is unusual for an expensive restaurant.
The server was more skilled then he initially appeared.
The restaurant resembles another place from the past.
The food was sophisticated and surprisingly inexpensive.
It is possible to watch the staff preparing the food.
The food is not what you’d expect from the décor.
Not all the tables can be booked in advance.
It will eventually be possible to sleep there.
The writer was tempted to make a noise.
The décor is simple and elegant.

A Flour and Water

Reservations at Flour and Water in San Francisco are tough. Lines are long — half the tables are saved for walk-ins. The music is too loud; techno the night I ate there. The servers look as though they're ready to toss aside their order pads and dance. The design appears to be inspired by the Wild West. Nothing hints at the brilliance of the dishes you will be served there. Flour and Water offers simple Italian dining in a very special way using remarkable ingredients and providing stunning layers of flavor. San Francisco produces the most fascinating pizza toppings on earth, and these are among the most original and delicious: bone marrow, soft cheese, broccoli leaves, and fresh horseradish on one; tomato, spiced meat and olives on another. Pizza gets no better than this.

В The Tasting Kitchen

I wasn't impressed by the menu at The Tasting Kitchen, not at first. "Very confusing. I apologise," the waiter admitted. To be honest, he didn't seem all that coherent, either. When I told him I had no idea what to order, he suggested I trust the chef. I rather apprehensively said okay. Nothing to lose. That's when the experience changed. The Tasting Kitchen then began to feel like a top-class restaurant in Paris, despite the fact that its prices are actually remarkably reasonable. The food was creamy, complex, and compelling. The only break from richness was two different salads, the lettuces piled high, accented with beautifully biting vinaigrettes. The wines were exquisitely matched. That waiter suddenly transformed into a mastermind, when it came to the wine list. This meal at The Tasting Kitchen had turned out to be a masterpiece.

С Longman and Eagle

The way I heard it from my waiter, Longman and Eagle aspires to become a guesthouse. That will happen once the planned half dozen rooms are completed and ready to be made available for overnight stays. Longman and Eagle has two dining areas, wildly dissimilar. The back one looks like it was decorated by an 11-year-old with crayons. The front room, substantially more popular, has an unpainted plank ceiling, black tables, rusted industrial lamps, exposed pipes, a few plants, and no art except that found on the bodies of the customers. The food is first-class. A considerable number of dishes were triumphant, including spicy chicken wings with a blue-cheese dip, chicken-liver mousse and a sunny-side-up duck egg with truffle vinaigrette.

D Commis

Across the street from Commis is Anatoly's Men's Clothing, new suits for $99. (Not cheap enough? Take advantage of the liquidation sale.) An unlikely locale for a restaurant with such style. Commis is a block buster, a neighborhood-changer, a primal economic and cultural force. Whether or not it's embraced by locals, it has to be admired for venturing where nobody is used to paying serious prices for food. The kitchen staff works out front, behind a tiny counter, eerily silent — as is the entire restaurant. The food was perfect but so much quiet made me desperate to shatter the hush, yell out, "Hey, there's a sale at Anatoly's—anybody want to join me?"

E Menton

Menton is one of Boston's fanciest restaurants. It is cool, minimalist, all blacks, whites, and grays, not a hint of color in the dining room. The servers are so discreet they seldom talk to the table, preferring to lean in and have a conversation with each diner. The patrons are living up to the restaurant — I can't recall seeing such a nicely dressed dinner crowd in America's worst-dressed city. The food tends toward upscale French, lush and rich. The meat preparations stand out, particularly the thick, juicy slab of pheasant and the tender, barely gamy Scottish hare, presented rare. Menton is gracious, serious, luxurious, and very un-Boston.