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This Week in Reviews – November 4, 2005

Each Friday, A Guy In New York publishes “This Week in Reviews (TWIR),” with quick links to New York City restaurant reviews and mentions from the previous seven days in blogs, magazines, and newspapers.

A Guy In New York has the list of Michelin New York 1, 2, and 3 star restaurants … each with a link to MenuPages, Citysearch, Gayot, or New York Times’ reviews … and reactions …
WhiteTrashBBQ says that the jalapeno and Cajun flavored peanuts from the Texoma Peanut Inn “are easiest the best I’ve ever eaten.” …
Salli Vates recommends Cube 63 … “Are you one of those people who, after ordering the sushi combination, invariably sighs, “Where’s the good stuff?” You are always bemoaning the lack of eel and the scarcity of yellowtail. Here’s a solution for you: the Cube 63 special. At just $20, it contains only salmon, yellowtail, eel and tuna.” … 234 Court Street, Brooklyn, 718-243-2208 [MenuPages | sushiNYC | Citysearch]
Twenty Bucks a Day went to a few places this week … Siam Garden … “Bangkok chicken ($11), which I’m ready to anoint the king of all sweet and sour chickens the world over.” … 172 Court Street, Brooklyn, 718-596-3300 [MenuPages] … New Green Bo … “a great disappointment” … $20 a Day definitely does not have a Chinese palate: we believe the pork and crab soup dumplings and scallion pancakes are excellent here … 66 Bayard Street, between Mott and Elizabeth Streets, 212-625-2359 [MenuPages | NYT | Citysearch] …
Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld report that new chef at Sweetwater, Paul Williams, is “making a distinctive culinary statement with a big, brawny, butter-crazed style informed in part by his Big Easy gigs at Bayona and Lilette, and in part by his Brooklyn childhood.” … serving “sumptuous, full-flavored food” … 105 North Sixth Street, near Berry Street, Brooklyn, 718-963-0608 [NYT | Citysearch]
Cynthia Kilian writes about Al Yeganeh’s (the “Soup Nazi) new chain, Original SoupMan … “Cracking the Soup Case” … now open at 501 Fifth Avenue, at 42nd Street, 212-599-5900 (near Bryant Park) … eater covered this in September … also see NewYorkology and Jonathan Lemire …
Irene Sax also went to Original SoupMan … “On opening day, I tried five of 10 [soups] that change daily and ate them in Bryant Park because there were no seats in the store. The best was the Manhattan clam chowder, a thin, lively tomato broth dense with potatoes, garlic and more chewy clams than you’d ever get at the shore.” … also liked the chicken Mulligatawny, lobster bisque … “With your soup you get a Delicious or Granny Smith Apple, a chunk of bread and what looks like butter but turns out to be a foil-wrapped square of dark chocolate.” …
Gael Greene liked “the mini-burgers and that fried calamari with chipotle mayo” at Melbas … 300 West 114th Street, at Frederick Douglass Boulevard, 212-864-7777 [Citysearch]
Jose Martinez has a good summary of the 4 finalists for this year’s Vendy Awards … “The Vendy Awards, created by the Urban Justice Center to honor the best of the nearly 10,000 street food vendors in New York, will recognize the stars of sidewalk cuisine next week.” … full post with links here …
eater likes Nha Trang … “Nothing on the menu disappoints (by our measure, the pork chops and soft shell crabs are particularly terrific” … 87 Baxter Street, between White and Walker Streets (just below Canal), 212-233-5948 [MenuPages | Gayot | NYT | Citysearch]
Adam Platt says D’or Ahn is “a subtle, even elegant little restaurant, a place where unlikely sounding combinations produce the most interesting, unlikely results.” … his favorite entree was “the pork belly, which is braised to a kind of fatty tenderness in sweet bean paste and served over a risotto made, ingeniously, with millet.” … (Paul Adams and Moira Hodgson reviewed in October (TWIR, October 21, 2005)) … 207 10th Avenue, at West 22nd Street, 212-627-7777 [Citysearch] … and wasn’t impressed with Cercle Rouge … “Aside from the excellent Buffalo wings (the blue-cheese sauce is whipped with crème fraîche), the best things at Cercle Rouge seem to be beef-related.” … (Andrea Strong also liked the chicken wings (TWIR, October 14, 2005), but an eater reader was “underwhelmed” (TWIR, September 23, 2005)) … 241 West Broadway, 212-226-6252 [MenuPages]
Pascale Le Draoulec writes that “modern cuisine blending French technique with Korean ingredients, a meal at D’Or Ahn is a warm and uniquely personal experience.” … “Yang is the first chef to introduce me to the pleasures of toro prosciutto: salt-cured tuna served up Italian style in pearlescent slices of pale pink.” … also liked the short ribs, braised pork belly, black cod, and the “buttery pear upside-down cake paired with the chili ice cream” …
Big Apple Dining Guide can’t understand why Fleur de Sel is a 1 star restaurant but “I fail to see how Eleven Madison Park didn’t get a 1 star if this place did.” … 5 East 20th Street, between 5th Avenue and Broadway, 212-460-9100 [MenuPages | NYT | Citysearch] … Eleven Madison Park, 11 Madison Avenue, at 24th Street, 212-889-0905 [MenuPages | NYT | Citysearch] … and liked Wallse’ … “We sat between an older Austrian couple (to my right) and a younger couple in their 30s (to my left) and were able to hear every word of their conversations as the night went on, which to me is too close for comfort. The bench seat that Danna sat on was covered with comfortable moleskin-like fabric which satisfied her seating needs. My chair, a flimsy, lightweight and semi-comfortable piece of furniture was discouraging.” … sounds like a Michelin 1 star to us … but the “slow cooked lobster with spätzle, corn and concord grape sauce … made the whole night worthwhile” … and agrees “with Amanda Hesser’s review that this is a 2 star restaurant.” … 344 West 11th Street, 212-352-2300 [MenuPages | NYT | Citysearch]
Moira Hodgson gave 1 (reluctant?) star to Kitchens and Cocktails … “grilled salmon, served on a bed of fresh corn with basil and cherry tomatoes, was excellent.” … (Mona’s Apple reviewed last month (TWIR, October 7, 2005)) … 199 Orchard Street, between Houston and Stanton Streets, 212-420-1112 [MenuPages | NYT | Citysearch]
Robert Sietsema says that “For the Indian-food aficionado, the menu is a wonderland.” at Mainland India … 296 Bleecker Street, 212-989-1367 [Citysearch | Gayot]
NYC Nosh loved the food and the service at WD-50 … “Only very rarely does a restaurant emerge like Athena from Zeus’s head, fully-realized and deserving of a Michelin star (or two or three). Much more often, it takes time for an establishment to mature and develop its own culinary identity. Sometimes all the elements never quite come together in the perfect storm necessary, but once in a while, they do. This is precisely what has happened with Wylie Dufresne’s WD-50 over the past three years.” … (Forbes gave WD-50 a green GO in September (TWIR, September 9, 2005),and Elissa Myers reviewed in August ((TWIR, August 26)) … 50 Clinton Street, between Stanton and Rivington Streets, 212-477-2900 [MenuPages | Gayot | NYT | Citysearch] … and had some great food during a business trip to São Paulo, Brazil … “The Other Brooklin” …
Joshua Bernstein believes “style trumps practicality and value, and the super-hideaway vibe feels more than a little ostentatious” … at Back Room … next to Tides … eater covered Back Room this week and last month … and Melena Ryzik says “It is perfect for dates. On a rainy Wednesday night couples took up every seat. Weekends have more swing, but the atmosphere is still stylish and grown-up.” … 102 Norfolk Street, between Rivington and Delancey Street, 212-228-5098
Frank Bruni gave 2 stars to Thor … “Unceremonious and occasionally irreverent service accompanies serious, earnest food.” … “the kitchen’s selection and cooking of fish and meat were superb, exemplified by an entree of perhaps the freshest-tasting brook trout I’ve encountered. It came with creamed spinach and caper berries.” … (Adam Platt reviewed in October (TWIR, October 21, 2005), as did Moira Hodgson (TWIR, October 12, 2005), and Andrea Strong in September (TWIR, September 30, 2005)) … 107 Rivington Street, between Essex and Ludlow Streets, 212-475-2600 or 646-253-6700 [MenuPages | Gayot | Citysearch]
David Rosen gave 2.5 stars to Thor … “Three pristine Kumamoto oysters on the half shell, filled with fatty, diced, raw tuna and delicate caviar, are stunningly presented on a large ring mold. Silky foie-gras terrine is married to a sweet roasted peach cut into the same half-moon shape as the goose liver.” … ” feathery gnocchi with peas and mushrooms, and moist salmon-and-tomato lasagna make one forget this isn’t a five-star Italian restaurant.” …
The Bruni Digest reviews Frank Bruni’s review of Thor … “Thor: Literally Run by Arnold Shwarzenegger” …
Frank Bruni also visited Barça 18 … “an attempt to combine the electricity of a big-box restaurant like Vento, one of Mr. Hanson’s signature successes, with some of the artistry of Le Bernardin, Mr. Ripert’s throne.” … had “rubbery, fishy octopus with a sweet pepper confit” … but liked the lobster paella … 225 Park Avenue South, between 18th and 19th Streets, 212-533-2500 [MenuPages | Gayot | Citysearch]
Mona’s Apple had lunch at Piccolo … “filet of sole sautéed with white wine, lemon and capers…. I’ve had sole before but never this good.” … 226 3rd Avenue, between 19th and 20th Streets, 212-420-0600 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
Peter Meehan recommends the fried chicken and broiled salmon head at Chiyono … “The best entrees are broiled or fried. Like flawless fried chicken” … “half a salmon’s head, broiled, and, in its simplicity, one of the best things we had on any visit to Chiyono” … 328 East 6th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues, 212-673-3984
Slashfood reviews the hash browns eaten at Waffle House during a “torrid three-day affair” … “Last Tango in Tullahoma” … likes them extra greasy … the Waffle House closest to NYC is 85 miles west at 1783 Airport Road, Allentown, PA, 610-266-6300 [ePinions | Citysearch – Lancaster, PA location]
this is here because it’s about Malaysian food … Rosemary Black has recipes from Heng Ngo for Malaysian Chicken Curry and Nasi Lemak … “His curry carries over: Malaysian chicken & rice dishes hail from homeland” … if you want to try good Malaysian food, go to Sanur …
Matt Lee and Ted Lee report that the rising cost of fuel hasn’t effected the price of food … yet … “With prices at the grocery store and in restaurants holding steady, producers and middlemen have been forced to absorb the increase.” … “The Industry: Gastronomics,” The New York Times, October 30, 2005