Odam Plans Your Staycation; Titaya's Serves Up Favorites

The Statesman's Matthew Odam heaps praise on two poolside dining options this week in lieu of a traditional review. The critic recommends ditching work and visiting The Four Seasons and The W Hotel during the week. On the Four Seasons burger:

At the lakeside hotel, consideration is given to the smallest details. The mayonnaise and mustard for the massive burger come in squeeze bottles that keep the condiments cold despite the sun's angry glare. No individual glass mayo jars here. The burger at the Four Seasons pool ($19) is draped by Irish green waves of Bibb lettuce and a fire-engine red hunk of tomato, with tangy bacon jam coloring the flaky and buttery bun. The thick coarse-grind maintains a respectable balance of lean and fat, to keep the poolside affair from requiring an extra beach towel.

Jessi Cape checks out the revamped Titaya's for The Chronicle. She finds that not much has changed since the restaurant's epic remodel, and that's a good thing.

A food writer could wax poetic about the hits and misses of any chef's rendition of a dish's intricate flavor profile – how it compares with this version or that one, how each is subject to generational differences and familial preferences, tied to memories and habits. But the bottom line is simple: I will return to Titaya's for their versions of my favorite dishes.

THE BLOGS: Fed Man Walking Mike Sutter breakfasts at Noble Sandwiches, Burger Mary digs Burro Cheese Kitchen, Hungry Girl Austin approves of El Sapo, and Mad Betty has a first look at Dang Banh Mi.
· Hit The Pool on Your Staycation [Statesman]
· Titaya's, Take Two [Chronicle]
· All Week in Reviews [EATX]