Critic Roundup: Verbana Caters To Carnivores And Vegetarians

This week in restaurant news, San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer calls Verbana by chef Sean Baker a restaurant that caters equally to the carnivore and the vegetarian.

"One wall of the restaurant is covered in a series of paintings that speaks to a commitment to farming and sustainability. The long panels look like squares of slate, but are made from pigment from the soil of their farms... The menu lists, in order, snacks, vegetable dishes, smaller nonvegetarian offerings and finally three main courses – one meat, one fish and one vegetable."

In Washington, DC, Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema reviews Fiola Mare, the "long-awaited" Mediterrean seafood restaurant by chef Fabio Trabocchi that sits on the Georgetown waterfront.

"...luck, or good timing, can land you a table with a postcard view of both the Potomac River and the Kennedy Center... Fiola Mare sports the sleek good looks of an ocean cruiser and beckons with some of the most rococo dishes now playing."

In Boston, Boston Globe restaurant critic Devra First says Lumière is "about as consistent as they come." 

"As is often the case with well-loved neighborhood bistros, the restaurant isn't particularly fashionable," says First. "It is a simple space with white wainscoting, beige walls hung with black-and-white photos, burgundy accents, and upholstery patterned with whimsical swirls... It feels, as a friend said, like "the type of place you'd take your mother-in-law to lunch."

Restaurant Critic Roundup: 3/12/2014

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Haley Willard is The Daily Meal's assistant editor. Follow her on Twitter at @haleywillrd.