Russell Chooses Mucca Osteria Over Burrasca; WWeek Names The Zipper's Top Sandwich

MUCCA VS. BURRASCA -- Yesterday, the Oregonian food critic Michael Russell reviewed Downtown's Mucca Osteria and SE Clinton's Burrasca, writing that at Burrasca, "the best dishes remain the simplest" and at Mucca, "mains [...] are the real star." He directly compared pappardelles, giving Mucca the win (though both lose to Renata), and he also commented on Burrasca's "inexpensive Italian wines" and Mucca's "surprisingly high" prices. Russell finishes his review of Burrasca saying, "If Burrasca wants to be taken seriously as a restaurant, the service needs to get more serious first," giving it one star. Mucca, on the other hand, received two. [Oregonian]

BYWATER GROCERY -- WWeek's Martin Cizmar declared that the best sandwich at the Zipper, the new microrestaurant and Paydirt Bar complex on NE Sandy, is Bywater Grocery's "Original," "a custom French loaf" topped with "french fries and mayonnaise" and "pickles, lettuce, tomatoes." Cizmar wrote, "At first, a mayonnaise and french fry sandwich struck me as some sort of statement about rural Southern poverty. But, hot damn, it's good." [WWeek]

FILLMORE COFFEE -- WWeek also reviewed Fillmore Coffee, the cafe and vegetarian and vegan pizza shop on NE Glisan Street. Cizmar wrote, "As a coffee shop, I'm not that into it." The espresso "kept almost no crema"; a breakfast sandwich "left a basil burn in my mouth for an hour"; and "the barista forgot to bring my housemade pastry." That said, he wrote that the pizzas "are true Neapolitan-style pies," especially that day's "white pizza." [WWeek]