Bistro 33 review

I went to Bistro 33 in Davis for lunch today. It has tons of outdoor seating but it's by a very busy intersection and there is no shade or greenery, so I sat inside at the bar. I wrestled with my inner demons over whether to get a glass of wine or a beer for a few long minutes. I finally convinced myself that one drink would just leave me wanting another and that because I'm at work that's out of the question and so it would really just mean empty calories. Becky, 1, demons, 0. But they're gonna score about 8 later tonight so they were happy to concede. Decor is pretty standard for a restaurant that's brought to you by the 33rd st. Bistro and Riverside Clubhouse people. It's OK. Crapola beer selection on tap. Rouge ale, Coors, Widmer Hefeweizen and some pale ale. The menu is very similar to the 33rd st. Bistro menu. I couldn't pick out any differences. If you go here you are going to spend at least 10 bucks, probably more, so it's pricey for lunch. They have the Puget Sound sandwich which is usually delicious but sometimes it can be all sloppy with mayo so I was scared to order it. I got the Nicoises Salmon salad instead. Now I love a Nicoise salad. It's one of the most perfect salads invented by man (we all know the best salad-ambrosia-was invented by God). I was OK with trying this variation, with poached salmon rather than tuna. It was presented in the traditional Nicoise deconstructed style, where each ingredient is in its own separate little pile. It looked pretty but this bugs me. When I make it I mix it all up. The salmon was great, not overcooked, not too fishy and a nice pale pink. There were not enough greens and the whole thing was so lightly dressed as to almost be naked. One weird thing was that it included grilled radicchio. Guess what happens when you grill radicchio? It becomes unbelievably bitter. MMM. Instead of cherry tomatoes there was a sad little pile of chopped supermarket-quality tomotoes. If that's all you have, forgetaboutit. Keep them off my plate. I am a fan of small portions, but this thing was really small for 10 bucks. They only give like 3 tiny slices of red potato. This is dumb because this would be a very cheap way for them to bulk up the salad to give you your money's worth. And this has been an overly detailed description of my lunch. You must be really bored if you are still reading this.