The Critics Ate Crudo, Carbonated Gazpacho, and Cauliflower Tacos This Week

The Boston Globe's Sacha Pfeiffer visited South Boston's Sixth Gear, finding the restaurant "most successful when it sticks to the basics, which it doesn't do often enough." She wrote that she would order the burger with cheddar bearnaise sauce again, as well as the beef skewers that are marinated in Guinness and other caramel-inducing ingredients. Plus, the Huli Huli chicken "was a unanimous hit." Pfeiffer also praised the parmesan haddock but noted that the more ambitious dishes went awry. The gazpacho was "oddly carbonated," the kale in the watermelon salad was "unwieldy," and the mango tandoori soup was "a confused brew of sweet and savory." Overall, Pfeiffer wrote that the restaurant has a lot going for it, but "its identity is blurred."

Ellen Bhang headed out of the city to West Acton to check out True West, a brewery and restaurant that relies on local partnerships for sustenance. For her latest piece for the Globe, she sampled items from the scratch kitchen, including homemade ketchup with tots, which she noted paired well with the brewery's American IPA. Beer appears in the food menu, with spent grains showing up in a flatbread with chorizo that Bhang wrote was "delicious, spicy, and designed for sharing." She praised the harvest salad, as well as a burger called the "Spicy Pig," which went well with both the red IPA called Fuego Sunset and the Campfire Session Nitro, a smoked porter.

Rounding out the Globe's week, Devra First popped into the newly opened Bar Mezzana for a quick bite of crudo (everything from scallops to yellowtail to mackerel), prosciutto, crostini, and salads. She wrote that the star of the show might just be the pasta, including a spaghetti dish with crab, sea urchin, and chile. First noted that the "spritz cocktails make you feel like you're in Venice," and the restaurant features local beers and wines from around the world.

The Improper Bostonian's MC Slim JB went to Casa Verde to snack on some tacos. "The menu skips through a few regions of Mexico, building on simple, high-quality bases and relying on vibrant salsas, herb-enhanced cremas and intricate moles to provide depth of flavor," Slim wrote. He praised the excellent tortilla chips and the "lineup of abundantly filled tacos," including the spit-roasted lamb and charred pineapple, as well as the chipotle cauliflower that "packs a wallop." The platos are a substantial meal, he noted, and the bacalao a la Vizcaina is a "showstopper." Overall, Slim wrote that "Casa Verde stands as testament to the range of its owners."