JW Marriott’s Restaurants Are Just Okay, Says Chronicle

The Chronicle tripled the amount of reviews this week by tackling the trio of restaurants within downtown’s JW Marriott Hotel. First up, contributor Melanie Haupt dubbed the hotel’s flagship restaurant Corner as "above average" when it came to hotel dining. Among the disappointing appetizers, entrees, and desserts for both dinner and brunch, the only item she could wholeheartedly recommend was the grouper:

Among the entrées at our table that night, only my grouper dish ($24) was truly excellent – a modest portion of brioche-and-pecan breaded and pan-fried fish sat atop a mound of velvety pureed potatoes and delicate haricots verts.

One of the very few highlights among editor Brandon Watson’s array of way casual Italian fare from the Marriott’s second restaurant Osteria Pronto was a simple pasta entree:

The best pasta dish, Straw & Hay ($17), coats bicolor noodles with an assertively garlicked cream sauce and oozing soft-boiled egg. It's a classic preparation, save for the newfangled "put an egg on it" flourish, and it should be the largest picture on the restaurant's dream board.

Lastly, Haupt also checked out the burgers from confusing setup of Burger Bar, where poultry options were much better than beef. The turkey burger was "savory and moist," and she went sans-bread for the chicken sandwich:

Burger Bar also offers a grilled chicken sandwich ($4.25). While it's ostensibly a healthy choice, the option of a whole wheat bun might be nice. That said, I ordered mine with a lettuce wrap in lieu of any bread and was perfectly satisfied. The generous breast is topped with a slice of pepperjack cheese before griddling, then dressed with a tangy house sauce that makes for big flavor.

THE BLOGS: Forks Up picked out her favorite bites from ACL, and Mike Sutter went big with La Condesa’s grasshopper taco.