• Forbes gave Green GOs to … Restaurant 343: “Favorites: the gazpacho and the roasted lemon-and-lime-infused chicken.” … 343 East 85th Street, 212-717-6200 [MenuPages | Citysearch] … Sushi Ann: “Noteworthy: salmon caviar over grated Japanese radish.” … 38 East 51st Street, 212-755-1780 [MenuPages | Gayot] … Caviar and Banana: “Particularly good are the various churrasco skewers and the tapas” … 12 East 22nd Street, 212-353-0500 [MenuPages | NYT | Citysearch]
• Robert Sietsema declares that “Pho Grand is quite simply the best Vietnamese restaurant in town, its only competition being a couple of Bensonhurst joints.” … 277C Grand Street, 212-965-5366 [MenuPages | NYT]
• eat drink one woman declares “the finger foods they were passing around were pretty damned delish. Crisp, wonton skinned samosas with spicy chicken filling; plump shrimp peeking out from between two crunchy coconut batter discs; dainty index finger sized shiitake spring rolls; and coconut milk-marinated satay skewers.” … Spice Market … 403 West 13th Street, 212-675-2322 [NYT | Gayot | Citysearch]
• Hal Rubenstein writes that at Cookshop “I’ve never had brisket like this. Not that I don’t love Mom’s, but she doesn’t smoke hers for 24 hours after packing it in a sugar, cumin, and paprika rub, or serve it with a luscious broth of onions, honey, and beer.“… (Andrea Strong reviewed last week (TWIR, November 11, 2005) and NYC Nosh reviewed in October (TWIR, October 14, 2005)) … 156 10th Avenue, at 20th Street, 212-924-4440 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
• WhatISee has pics of Cookshop … “The entrees weren’t quite as good as the appetizers.” …
• Steve Cuozzo reports that at Jovia during the “next few weeks at lunch, ‘everyone’s a critic,’ as a form given to each customer proclaims. In what might be a first, every diner is asked for comments and numerical ratings in 11 categories, from ‘first impressions’ to ‘coffee/tea.’ Write in your ‘honest comments,’ and Jovia spots you a $20 gift certificate good on your next lunch.” … WhatISee has pics … 135 East 62nd Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues, 212-752-6000 [MenuPages |Citysearch]
• Eating for Brooklyn believes that Maggie Brown, “replete with velvet Victorian wallpaper and retro chandeliers, is designed to make you feel like you’re at your grandmother’s old house.” … except for the sand in the swiss chard … 455 Myrtle Avenue, at Washington Avenue, 718-643-7001 [NYT | Citysearch]
• Peter Meehan writes that Luz is “a neighborhood place through and through” … “cobble together a meal from appetizers and ceviches, the best of which is coco tuna ($13), raw tuna tossed with coconut milk enlivened with lemongrass, ginger and jalapeño. Pinchos de res ($11), grilled cubes of tenderloin served with a mojo and a chimichurri, is good eating as well (though the beef seemed too flavorful to be tenderloin). The vatapa, a coconut-milk-based stew loaded with shellfish and vegetables, is as good an $11 seafood soup as one could hope for.” … 177 Vanderbilt Avenue, between Myrtle and Willoughby Avenues, Brooklyn, 718-246-4000 [NY | Citysearch]
• Moira Hodgson gives 2 stars to Piano Due despite “a small plate of fried zucchini was delivered to the table. It was soggy, limp and cold” and “a vapid seafood salad” … “The pastas are wonderful” and she liked the veal chop and the desserts … (Gael Greene reviewed in October (TWIR, October 14, 2005) and David Rosen in September (TWIR, September 9, 2005)) … 151 West 51st Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues, 212-399-9400 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
• David Rosen did not like Barça 18 … “Remarkably, the restaurant is constantly packed with a fashionable crowd. This is certainly a testament to the interest that its owners are able to generate on the coattails of their famous names. Imagine how much more popular the restaurant would be if they had named [it] after a baseball team.” … (Frank Bruni reviewed in early November (TWIR, November 4, 2005)) … 225 Park Avenue South, between 18th and 19th Streets, 212-533-2500 [MenuPages | Gayot | Citysearch]
• NYC Nosh liked Amy Ruth’s … the “order of Councilman Bill Perkins ($13.95)– Southern fried chicken dipped in honey from Amy Ruth’s own bees … was one of the most successful fried chickens I have tasted.” … 113 West 116th Street, between Lenox and Seventh Avenues, 212-280-8779 [NYT | Citysearch] … and also likes Soba Koh … “the agedashi tofu special, was among the very best I have ever eaten” … (Salli Vates reviewed last summer (TWIR, August 19, 2005)) … 309 East 5th Street, 212-254-2244
• gothamist says 24 Prince is inconsistent … good: “pigs-in-a-blanket in a honey mustard sauce,” “a very satisfying downtown chopped salad,” … not-so-good: “flatbread grilled chicken pizza, which was drowned in barbecue sauce, tough to chew, and seemed to be prepared in a microwave.” and “fish and chips, which was not very appetizing and was mostly left for the busboy.” … 24 Prince Street, between Mott and Elizabeth Streets, 212-226-8624 [Citysearch] … eater has pics …
• Twenty Bucks A Day likes the chicken avocado toast at PressToast … 112 MacDougal Street, between Bleecker and West 3rd Streets, 212-253-6705 [MenuPages] … and the Irish breakfast at Ceol … 191 Smith Street, between Warren and Baltic Streets, Brooklyn, 347-643-9911 [Citysearch]
• Frank Bruni gave 1 star to Aburiya Kinnosuke … “Cold, circular wedges of Japanese sticky yam, with the taste and texture of a slick potato, had been pickled and seasoned with wasabi. They were slimy on the outside, softer within, and had a fiery finish on the tongue. I couldn’t stop eating them” … 213 East 45th Street, 212-867-5454 [New York | Salli Vates | Marie Mutsuki Mockett]
• The Bruni Digest: “After days on the open sea, Frank moored his enormous galleon on East 45th street, dropped the sails, collapsed his telescope, and leaped off the poopdeck to bravely explore Japanese spot Aburiya Kinnosuke.” …
• Big Apple Dining Guide says at La Petite Auberge the “lamb chops were excellent…cooked perfectly medium rare. This was very, very good.” … “This local spot serves adequate, country french bistro cuisine that has the occasional big hit and the slightly more common, misses.” … 116 Lexington Avenue, between 27th and 28th Streets, 212-689-5003 [MenuPages | NYT | Citysearch]
• Andrea Strong says the Gotham Bar & Grill “lacked chemistry“… ” the food, still strongly American with global touches, was fine, but it lacked heart.” … 12 East 12th Street, between 5th Avenue and University Place, 212-620-4020 [MenuPages | NYT | Gayot | Citysearch]
• Gotham Gal ate at Little Giant … “The meal was one of the best meals I have had out in a very long time. Everything was delicious. Everything.” … 85 Orchard Street, at Broome Street, 212-226-5047 [MenuPages | NYT | Citysearch]

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