Watson Delivers on Paperboy and Calls Small Victory Winning

The Chronicle's Brandon Watson filed two reviews this week, starting with the most important meal of the day: breakfast at Paperboy. He finds no fault with the items on the limited menu, and lauds chef Zechariah Perez's careful balancing of flavors, particularly with the toasts:

On our visit, the sweet ($6) was more fresh than treacly, with a bouncy mix of tangerine and strawberry, held down with ricotta, granola, and a drizzle of honey. As with the hash, a bright element saves the savory toast ($7) from being buried. In this case, pickled carrot susses out more spice from goat chorizo, keeping the slick of grease from overwhelming the dish.

He also praises the environment for elevating the standard "food truck on vacant lot" aesthetic, and partook in illicit BYOBing, borne of a desire for more beverage options.

Watson also has high praise for Small Victory, the downtown speakeasy that manages to be sophisticated without being snobbish. He offers an overview of the broad and deep menu, which has expanded exponentially since the bar first opened:

Brown liquors are well represented with the Maple Leaf ($12), a fairly doctrinaire interpretation of the spiced bourbon cocktail with lemon, real maple syrup, and a dusting of cinnamon. Scotch and sherry combine in the Artists' Special ($11), with a quick swap of house grenadine for red currant syrup. The foundational flavors will be welcome to any sour fan, but the sweet sherry evens out the tart. Prefer tequila to whiskey? Go for the Rosita ($13): First recorded in an Eighties Mr. Boston guide according to the menu, it's a wonderfully complex blend of reposado, Campari, Italian and French vermouths, and bitters.

His one complaint? There should be more food available.

THE BLOGS — Fed Man Walking tallies up two more burgers from In-N-Out and Posse East; Forks Up dines farm-to-table at Texas French Bread; and Austinot swoons over Juliet.