To see a list of upcoming food events in the NYC area, see “New York City Wine Tasting, Dinners, Food/Drink Events.”
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 DC restaurant reviews, see This Week in DC Reviews at Hobnob Blog, and Tyler Cowen’s Ethnic Dining Guide ….
NYC Restaurant inspection results online
This week’s TWIR is late and light due to World Cup interference … GO Ecuador! GO Mexico! GO Argentina! GO Brazil! GO USA! …

• Augieland gave 871 spritezillian stars to Little Owl … the gravy meatball sliders, “ three airy meatballs about an inch and a half in diameter dressed in simple tomato sauce, topped with pecorino and chopped parsley, sandwiched in perfectly fitting home made garlic rolls [must] be about as good as a meatball sandwich is ever going to taste.” … “It is definitely worth a visit, whether it is because you want to say you were there back when, or you live close and want a good meal, or the reason I’ll probably be back most often: you like to eat great food in noisy little places.” … web site, 90 Bedford Street, on the corner of Grove Street, 212-741-4695 [NY Mag | Citysearch]
• Off The Broiler has great pics of the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party 2006 … and declares that Shake Shack is “one of the very best fast food establishments in the entire city, if not the best, bar none” … web site, southeast corner of Madison Square Park, near Madison Avenue and East 23rd Street [A Hamburger Today | MetropolisMag | MenuPages | NY Mag | Yelp | Citysearch] … and had “the Wazwan, the multicourse tasting menu composed of both hot and cold items” at Tabla … beautiful pics … (previous reviews: foodite (TWIR, February 3, 2006), Veal Cheeks (TWIR, December 23, 2005)) … web site, 11 Madison Avenue, at East 25th Street, 212-889-0667 [MenuPages | NYT | NY Metro | Village Voice | openlist | Gayot | Citysearch]
• Steve Cuozzo declares that “heaven is a burger made of fresh-ground, high-quality chuck beef grilled to a juicy turn under a crackling crust.” … ” my favorite restaurant burger is Nice Matin’s ‘Five-Napkin’ ($16.75), which uses nothing more exotic than 10 slurpy ounces of fresh-ground chuck on a soft french roll.” … and then looks at 6 places that sell “shamburgers” … and concludes: “Luger’s $7.95 burger (lunch only) is the bargain in the bunch – a slurping-good slab of juicy, fatty meat on a simple, seeded bun, and a fine introduction to the place’s legendary way with beef. Though smaller than the others, it’s still the Great American Hamburger.” … Nice Matin: web site, 201 West 79th Street, next to the Lucerne Hotel, 212-873-6423 [MenuPages | NYT | NY Mag | Gayot | Village Voice | Yelp | Citysearch] … Peter Luger’s: web site, 178 Broadway, Brooklyn, 718-387-7400 [A Hamburger Today | openlist | NYT | Gayot | Citysearch]
• Peter Meehan likes the braised short rib sandwich, the skirt steak salad, and the “Starwich Cobb salad ($11.95), classically composed, hit the spot, even if I wouldn’t go out of my way for it.” … at the chain Starwich Salads & Sandwiches … web site (Flash and music), 63 Wall Street, at Pearl Street, 212-809-3200, 72 West 38th Street, 212-302-7775, 525 West 42nd Street, 212-736-9170, 153 East 53rd Street, 212-371-7772, 1055 Lexington Avenue, at 75th Street [MenuPages | openlist | Yelp | Citysearch]
• Leo Carey writes that Degustation Wine & Tasting Bar has “food that is striking and occasionally inspired.” … (previous review: Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite (TWIR, June 9, 2006)) … 239 East 5th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, 212-979-1012 [Augieland | Yelp | Citysearch]
• Veal Cheeks writes that at Country “it is the food that requires panache. The service at this newly opened restaurant at the Carlton Hotel near Madison Park is as slick, convivial, and confident as that at any four star restaurant. The kitchen’s handiwork, while never failing, lacks the flair of genius.” … “The problem was not Executive Chef Doug Psaltis’s gaffes, but a deficit of delight, an absence of astonishment. Psaltis is a B+ chef. Psaltis is a pro at synthesizing high-middle cuisine, creating a restaurant free of complaint. Indeed, the high point of the evening was Country’s “Carlton House Rolls,” a soft, comforting, and polished bread modeled on the Parker House brand.” … (previous reviews: Steve Cuozzo (TWIR, March 10, 2006), Pascale Le Draoulec (TWIR, January 20, 2006), Frank Bruni (TWIR, October 28, 2005)) … web site, 90 Madison Avenue, at 29th Street (in the Carlton Hotel), 212-889-7100 [MenuPages | Gayot | Savory NY | Citysearch]
• Adam Platt says Craftsteak “is big and snazzy, but the beef doesn’t quite measure up.” … and “The lobster I sampled was dull (it’s served in the shell, swimming in an opulent lobster broth), and not worth its $55 price tag.” … web site, 85 Tenth Avenue, at 15th Street, 212-400-6699 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
• Frank Bruni gave 2 stars to Dona … “a fillet of marlin [was] hijacked by an intrusively sweet orange vinaigrette and a too-salty twofer of caper berries and olives” … “A zippy ‘paella soup’ took many of the components and seasonings of paella, let orzo play the role of rice and turned it all into a sort of bouillabaisse. Even better was a kind of bacalao Parmigiana, which combined fried salt cod, buffalo-milk ricotta, pecorino and cherry tomatoes.” … (previous reviews: VittlesVamp (TWIR, June 2, 2006), Adam Platt (TWIR, May 26, 2006)) … web site, 208 East 52nd Street, near Third Avenue, 212-308-0830 [Diners Journal | NY Mag | Citysearch]
• Gotham Gal reports that Le Cirque “has reopened once again. Sirio Maccioni and his family gets huge credit for continuing to reinvent their signature restaurant.” … “The fish was a tad over done and the large pieces really didn’t have tons of flavor but the key was the fennel au jus. Our waiter came over and poured that jus around the plate. That changed the entire taste of the dish. My friends both had the snapper. 7 spices crushed and covered over the fish and baked with a green curry relish. It was good. Keep in mind that each of these plates were $37.” … we agree with the commenter: “that’s ridiculous” … web site (Flash), 151 East 58th Street, 212-644-0202 [NY Mag | Gayot | Yelp]

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