Each Friday, A Guy In New York publishes “This Week in NYC Reviews (TWIR),” with quick links to New York City restaurant reviews and mentions from the previous seven days in blogs, magazines, and newspapers.
Also see our roundup of Michelin 1, 2 and 3 star restaurants with links to reviews …
For a roundup of DC restaurant reviews from DC food bloggers and media, see This Week in DC Reviews at Hobnob Blog …
NYC Restaurant inspection results online

• foodite had 26 dim sum dishes at Ocean Jewels Seafood Restaurant: “I will never eat Dim Sum in Chinatown again. I’m a Flushing Dim Sum convert.” … 13330 39th Avenue, Flushing, 718-359-8600 … sounds like a place we’ve got to try … also check out their reviews of DeMarco’s … and Tebaya …
• Veal Cheeks says Brasserie Les Halles “strives for adequacy. It usually achieves its goal, creating a thoughtless cuisine. The usual failings of a misbegotten restaurant were muted.“… “Les Halles has figured out just what it must do to get by. It is the slacker of New York City bistros, skating by on roguish charm and good looks.” … web site, 411 Park Avenue South, at 29th Street, 212-679-4111 [MenuPages | Gayot] … and says “Wallsé is Aquavit on Strudel” …
• A Hamburger Today says the burgers are expensive at Houston’s, but “the quality of the food was far superior to anything served at Bennigan’s or Applebee’s or any of those chain-monsters” … “will win no points for originality, but they used top-shelf ingredients and cooked them as requested” … 153 East 53rd Street, at 3rd Avenue, 212-888-3828 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
• NYC nosh revisited Grand Central Oyster Bar … Manhattan clam chowder had “substantially meaty pieces of clam were in evidence, yet there was also something metallic and amiss” … “loved the chewy and well-fried Ipswich clams in my clam platter” … but in the squid salad “some of the squid had dried out substantially and none of it was tender; Nosher described eating the rings ‘as like chewing my way through a plate of something you might buy at an office supply store.’ Unfortunately, there was also too much red onion and barely any of the advertised purple basil.” … web site, Lower Level, Grand Central Station, 89 East 42nd Street, 212-490-6650 [MenuPages | NYMetro | Citysearch]
• Forbes gives Green GOs to Le Périgord: “excellent foie gras and rack of lamb, superb Dover sole and tempting desserts.”… web site, 405 East 52nd Street, at 1st Avenue, 212-755-6244 [MenuPages | NYT | NY Metro | openlist | Gayot | Citysearch] … and Cookshop: “Strip steak, pasta and scallops are all perfectly prepared” … (previous reviews: Veal Cheeks (TWIR, February 3, 2006), Andrea Thompson (TWIR, December 16, 2005), Frank Bruni (TWIR, December 2, 2005), Hal Rubenstein (TWIR, November 18, 2005), Andrea Strong (TWIR, November 11, 2005), NYC Nosh (TWIR, October 14, 2005)) … 156 10th Avenue, at 20th Street, 212-924-4440 [MenuPages | Citysearch] … and a Yellow CONSIDER to Mainland … (previous reviews: Frank Bruni (TWIR, September 23, 2005), Adam Platt (TWIR, September 9, 2005), David Rosen (TWIR, August 26, 2005) and Gael Greene (TWIR, August 12, 2005)) … 1081 Third Ave. between East 63rd and 64th, 212-888-6333 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
• Salli Vates took her grandmother to Via Quadronno … “Although the tartini were small, they did not skimp on sweet crabmeat or a blanket of sparkling fresh salmon roe.” … web site, 25 East 73rd Street, 212-650-9880 [MenuPages | NYT | NY Metro | Citysearch]
• Robert Sietsema writes that Los Dos Molinos, “the offspring of a celebrated Arizona chain,” is “More than just margaritas” … “Adovada ribs [are] stewed with chiles till the meat falls off the bone” … “This is peasant cuisine par excellence, and the café doesn’t give a hoot for austere modern notions about plating.” … “Other bargains on the menu include enchiladas, tostadas, and taco salads” … 119 East 18th Street, between Irving Place and Park Avenue South, 212-505-1574 [MenuPages | NYT | NY Metro | openlist | Gayot | Citysearch]
• Joshua Bernstein likes the hot dogs at Port 41 … and the back room, which is “a wide-open brick room filled with dart boards and three beauties: tournament-size pool tables perpetually 100 percent free.” … 355 West 41st Street, at Ninth Avenue, 212-947-1188
• Gael Greene says David Burke at Bloomingdale’s “needs only a few therapeutic drop-ins from its peripatetic star chef.” … and wonders “what day the kitchen grilled the bird that’s on my chicken BLT with sweet garlic. It’s almost fossilized. Not that I wouldn’t come back.” … (previous reviews: A Guy In New York (TWIR, January 20, 2006), Slashfood and A Hamburger Today (TWIR, December 16, 2005)) … general web site, Burke in the Box web site, 1000 Third Avenue, 59th Street entrance, between Lexington and Third Avenues, 212-705-3800 [NY | The Strong Buzz | Daily News]
• Peter Meehan says the roasted tomato soup at Giorgione 508 “deftly straddles soupiness and pulpiness, a dollop of ricotta adds a suave creaminess and a faint tang, and a few spoonfuls of aromatic basil pesto push it over the top. If only they could figure out a way to can that.” … 508 Greenwich Street, at Spring Street, 212-219-2444 [NYC]
• Frank Bruni says Table XII “is defiantly retro and proudly old-fashioned, in terms of both its food and its setting.” … “Ravioli filled with porcini mushrooms were earthy, rich and expertly cooked. Lemon spaghetti, a recurring special, had butter, cream and the scary-exhilarating richness of an alfredo, but it also had lemon juice and lemon zest, which together cut through the clog and sharpened the dish. We loved it.” … web site, 109 East 56th Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues, 212-750-5656 [MenuPages | Citysearch] … and gave 2 stars to Gilt: “not as intent on gadgetry and eccentric flavor combinations, but … remains too invested in intricate constructions, with so many facets they fatigue.” … (previous reviews: Steve Cuozzo, David Rosen, Gael Greene (TWIR, January 20, 2006)) … web site, 455 Madison Avenue, at 50th Street, 212-891-8100 [NYT | Citysearch]
• Steve Cuozzo discovers that the “food at my favorite upscale Mexican restaurant was “cross-contaminated.” The cheap-eats chain that most grosses me out is cleaner than some places where I lunch in the glittering heart of Midtown.” … he found NYC Restaurant inspection results online …
• Augieland continues living at Morimoto NYC … “Omakase bar night 3” … “Omakase bar night 4” … “Omakase bar night 5: Night five and no repeats yet I am starting to worry Morimoto’s creativity will out last me.” … “Omakase bar night 6” … web site, 88 10th Avenue, between 15th and 16th Streets, 212-989-8883 [Citysearch] … and likes the honest cooking at Ureña, which is why he gave it “862 squigzillian stars” … “In New York City these days it is strange to feel a childlike ambition in a restaurant opening. Designers and publicity machines manipulate everything.” … “There is no new ingredient or trendy preparation in his dishes, just confidence, skill, and a unique instinct for pairings and combination of techniques.” … was delighted with “simple amuse bouche composed of black pepper wafers sandwiching cream cheese and a white anchovy filet, on a reduced sherry vinegar and basil oil” … liked the steamed lobster with pickled rhubarb, braised chicken breast, seared duck breast … “I’m sure one day soon a buzz will follow, but right now it is all about the food, and the food is good. I recommend going sooner rather than later.” … 37 East 28th Street, between Lexington Avenue and Park Avenue South, 212-213-2328 [NY Metro | Citysearch]
• The Girl Who Ate Everything had a Restaurant Week lunch at Union Square Cafe … the garlic potato chips “flavor was just right” … “I was very happy with my entree … Roasted Monkfish with Lentil-Mushroom Ragoût, Preserved Meyer Lemon, and Rocket ” … “one of my most enjoyable eating experiences in NYC” … web site, 21 East 16th Street, between Fifth Avenue and Union Square West, 212-243-4020 [MenuPages | NYT | NY Metro | Village Voice | openlist | Gayot | Citysearch]
• Andrea Strong found “a killer meal” at The Orchard … 162 Orchard Street, between Stanton and Rivington Streets, 212-353-3570

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