More Praise for Giulia and Sycamore

Giulia, which opened on Mass Ave between Harvard and Porter in December 2012, continues to garner critical acclaim with this three star (out of four) review from Dan Zedek in the Globe. At last, the phrase "sex on a spoon" has appeared in this venerable newspaper, thanks to the oft used restaurant review convention of "We overheard..." And while Zedek wishes that a bowl of lamb sausage and gigante beans was a sandwich, the pistachio gelato with marinated cherries on pizzella is "Best of all." Hence the aforementioned ribald eavesdrop. So does that make Giulia a greasy spoon? [BG]

It's B.N. Lee's turn now to marvel at the urban-quality Sycamore despite its Newton Centre location. Lee's latest Improper Bostonian review awards Sycamore with four stars, out of a possible five, but perhaps the best praise is that Lee says the restaurant is the kind you might choose "If you could eat at only one restaurant for the rest of your life." This is "the place you'd recommend without hesitation to visitors, friends and acquaintances alike." Don't miss the duck board, says Lee, which varies but has included pastrami, sliced roast duck and carnitas-like confit. One caveat: "Vegetarians will have a tough time with the menu." [TIB]

Compliments is one of many new food trucks this season, and sometimes food blog limeduck has paid a visit to the truck in its infancy. As a bonus, the post's title illustrates the proper use of the word compliment versus complement: "Compliments food truck complements the local truck scene and gathers compliments from diners." The fried onion is "a helping of almost candy-sweet onions, a little oily but nicely fried balancing between crispy and mushy" and the tuna melt suggests that the truck's grilled cheese could compete with the best in town. [limeduck]

For the Globe's Cheap Eats column, food editor Sheryl Julian assesses the offerings at the newish brick and mortar from Bon Me, which were previously only available from the truck by the same name that remains in service. The homophonic namesake sandwich is more of a "riff" on the classic banh mi, but "Unlike the real bahn mi, there's not much fat here, so it's a good healthy version." The space isn't as tidy and the bread isn't quite as pliant as Julian would hope for, and yet "Those are growing pains, the result of becoming wildly popular sooner than anticipated, and easily remedied." [BG]

Chowder's "Man Food" columnist Richard Chudy has an unusually - and perhaps atypically - bizarre dining experience at the recent downtown Vietnamese addition Sa Pa. Though various explanations are offered, "Meatball number two was actually purple in the middle, and ice-cold to the touch." [C]