Four Stars for Spero; Suelto's 5B Burger Gains Good Marks

Rarely are haute cuisine and Miller High Life mentioned in the same restaurant review, but the guys at small plate wonder Spero captivate critic Deidre Schipani with co-owners R.J. Moody and Rob Laudicina sense of playfulness and serious culinary prowess. The High Life comes in champagne buckets and the plates are worth four stars on Schipani's recent visits. All of the dishes (oysters, Scotch egg, "cornbread with burnt honey mustard miso butter") are knock-outs, and Schipani declares, "Spero’s popularity is fueled by its authenticity."

Off the peninsula, City Paper writer Allston McCrady hits Holy City Brewing's new kitchen Suelto. Former HoM chef Shay McDonald is in charge of the menu at Suelto, and it's the sort of fare patrons crave when throwing back a few beers. She tries many of the dishes, but dedicates an entire paragraph to the 5B burger: "sliced bananas, slivers of basil, strips of bacon, and peanut butter and brie rendered gooey by the burger's heat." Though it seems those ingredients wouldn't work, McCrady consumes the "whole damned thing."