This Week in Reviews – October 14, 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.
- Plate Of The Day recommends the “next time you have a craving for White Castle, you don’t need to hike up to Harlem or Port Authority for some great cheap burgers.” … go to The Burger Joint … 241 3rd Avenue, at 20th Street, 212-228-1219 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
- Salli Vates likes the sweet potato at Soba-Ya … “sprinkled with crunchy black sesame seeds and drizzled with sugar syrup. Yum!” … 229 East 9th Street, 212-533-6966 [New York | Citysearch]
- Twenty Bucks a Day is “happy to report that the potemochi (pan-fried potato cake) were delicious. Served with a drizzle of soy sauce and sweet BUTTER…” at Tebaya … 144 West 19th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues, 212-924-3335 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
- Robert Sietsema went to Landmarc last week … “With a menu that sprawls across many gustatory categories, the restaurant resembles a Parisian brasserie in attitude.” … the “orecchiette … flaunts a cream sauce of fresh rosemary and crumbled pork sausage so irresistible I went the next week to eat it again.” … “At Landmarc, good bottles [of wine] are often the same price as mediocre bottles elsewhere.” … (Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld reviewed Landmarc last week in “The Chefs Recommend” (TWIR, October 7, 2005)) … 179 West Broadway, 212-343-3883 179 West Broadway, at Leonard Street, 212-343-3883 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
- Amateur Gourmet went to Ouest … “pretty sure this is a smoked sturgeon salad, but if anything it’s a smoked fish with that spiky lettuce and bacon bits … a masterwork” … “for dessert, we shared an espresso parfait that was truly out of this world” … 2315 Broadway, at 84th Street, 212-580-8700 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
- The Bruni Digest notes that Frank Bruni is on vacation … Marian Burros is subbing …
- Marian Burros gave one star to Ben & Jack’s Steak House … “It’s unfortunate that the food at Ben & Jack’s strives to mimic Peter Luger’s, rather than to aim higher. The prices for steak are within a nickel of each other: $36.95 at Ben & Jack’s in Manhattan, $36.90 in Brooklyn. The question is whether either one is worth it. And at Ben & Jack’s, when the service is off, the answer is definitely no.” … “The food at Ben & Jack’s is equally uneven” … “Weighing in at four pounds, the lobster was rubbery and tasteless from stem to stern” … 219 East 44th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, 212-682-5678 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
- Peter Meehan suggests that you “stick to the resolutely Polish dishes and start off a meal at Kredens with whatever variation on borscht is on the menu.” … the potato pancake “Folded over on itself, dotted with sour cream and served in a goulash studded with cubes of exceedingly tender beef, it would make a satisfying cold-weather meal with a beer.” … 66-36 Fresh Pond Road, between Palmetto and Woodbine Streets, Ridgewood, Queens, 718-628-5214
- and although not reviews of NYC restaurants, R.W. Apple, Jr. is traveling around Asia and filing mouth watering reports … Shanghai Food … Thai …
- A Guy In New York likes Shimizu … “very fresh fish and excellent Japanese aesthetics” … 318 West 51st Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues, 212-581-1581 [sushi NYC | MenuPages | Citysearch]
- Moira Hodgson visited Thor … “Main courses include perfectly nice but undistinguished venison” … “one evening, I looked down at my plate in bewilderment. What had I ordered? Perched on a lump of ice the size of a bowling ball was a small mound that appeared to be covered with green slime. It was crushed avocado, sprinkled with salted caramel, placed on top of a tart lime sorbet. The whole thing taken all together was weird, one of the oddest things I’ve tasted, and not pleasant” … (Andrea Strong visited last month (TWIR, September 30, 2005) … 107 Rivington Street, between Essex and Ludlow Streets, 212-475-2600 or 646-253-6700 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
- Andrea Thompson says Tides “short but smartly curated wine list will change seasonally” … the “whole fish of the day was excellent” … (Andrea Strong reviewed Tides last month (TWIR, September 23, 2005), and Pascale Le Draoulec in August (TWIR, August 26, 2005)) … 102 Norfolk Street, near Delancey, 212-254-8855 [Citysearch]
- slice reminds us that “pizza as we know it in the United States is celebrating its centennial this year.” … and has the secret to the great pizza at Totonno’s … 1524 Neptune Avenue, Coney Island, 718-372-8606 [slice | Citysearch]
- Steve Cuozzo notes “this fall, Zagat has burning rubber on its tail: the Michelin Guide, the notoriously Francophile critical survey arriving in New York for the first time next month.” … “I’m rooting for it to kick Zagat’s burgundy-covered butt. Nobody who uses Zagat for its handy compilation of addresses and phone numbers is likely to throw out a guide that lists 1,700 places to eat compared with the new Michelin’s 500. But for diners fed up with Zagat’s myriad mistakes, see-no-evil write-ups and ridiculous inclusion of Krispy Kreme and Starbucks at the expense of actual restaurants, Michelin – spiffily retooled and redesigned for the New York market – finally offers a real alternative.” …
- Gael Greene writes that “It’s all about food here, about quintessential excess: poached-egg raviolo with truffle essence. Seafood risotto, a riot of flavor with the nuttiness of fried rock shrimp. Braised lobster on a splendid ragout of porcini, squash, fennel, and baby mussels. Pancetta-crusted scallops melting on the inside on yet another surprising risotto. Flubs are few….” … Piano Due … (David Rosen reviewed Piano Due last month (TWIR, September 9, 2005)) … 151 West 51st Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues, 212-399-9400 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
- Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld remind us that Brooklyn Eats will take place October 17 at the New York Marriott Brooklyn … and that classes at the Institute of Culinary Education’s 30th Anniversary on October 15 are $30 per person …
- Hal Rubenstein has a confession: “As satisfying as chocolate cake with corn ice cream and pineapple upside-down cake with a tart guava sauce are, what I really craved was another jala-piña (tequila and fresh pineapple juice infused with jalapeño) or blood-orange margarita, two of the best house cocktails dreamed up in New York in ages. They rank right up there with Zarela’s legendary margaritas.” … Centrico “energizes and elevates Mexican comfort and street food, the same winning way Spice Market jazzes up Southeast Asian pushcart fare.” … 211 West Broadway, at Franklin Street, 212-431-0700 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
- NYC Nosh reviews 3 this week … Cookshop … “Montauk squid with lima beans and salsa verde [appetizer] was excellent: it was the best dish of the night” … “Better than the lamb, but still not extraordinary was the cod with matchstick-cut apples, butternut squash ribbons, and celery.” … “Perhaps with time Cookshop will blossom and will do right by its fine local ingredients, but on this, its debut evening, it is still more awkward than polished.” … 156 10th Avenue, at 20th Street, 212-924-4440 [Citysearch] … Saravanaas … “making very traditional dishes to a very high standard.” … “Saravanaas excels at its use of more subtle spices such as fenugreek, which appears in several dishes; in fact, it is actually discernable as a flavor” … “the onion and chili utthappam, which was a gorgeous, 9-inch patty, studded with red onions and crisped bits of lentil. It was really divine stuff–easily the best dish of the evening” … (David Rosen reviewed last month (TWIR, September 2, 2005) and Peter Meehan reviewed in August (TWIR, August 19, 2005)) … 81 Lexington Avenue, at 26th Street, 212-679-0204 [MenuPages | Citysearch] … 2nd Avenue Deli … “Schmaltz That’s Worth The Schlep: Dinner at The 2nd Avenue Deli” … “for pure comfort food, and for the knowledge that your waitress is surely someone’s bubbe in her off-hours, the 2nd Avenue Deli takes the kugel.” … “Every time we go, at least one person in our party orders the Matzoh Ball Soup and someone else orders potato latkes, and each time, they are exceptional.” … 156 Second Avenue, between 9th and 10th Streets, 212-677-0606 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
- Joan Reminick likes the “fine roast beef sandwich” at Roasty’s … “Both the Caesar and the “Oriental” salads, done with fresh greens, were sabotaged by dressings that tasted of preservatives. Coleslaw, on the other hand, proved ideal” … 3114 Long Beach Road, Oceanside, 516-594-1100
- David Rosen gives 1.5 stars out of 4 to You-Chun … the “naeng myun, chilled noodles submerged in an icy beef broth … has a welcome vinegar zing” … also liked the “hot stone bowl filled with rice, onions and raw beef” and the fried vegetable dumplings … (Dana Bowen reviewed in August (TWIR, August 26, 2005)) … 5 West 36th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, 212-239-5000 [Citysearch]
- Peter Gianotti says “the Olde Speonk Inn covers more territory than Eli Manning” … “You’ll like the appetizer salads. The roasted beet number with horseradish-sherry vinaigrette; and the arugula production with roasted red peppers and shaved Parmesan stand out.” … “Grilled flatiron steak, a juicy and increasingly popular cut, is recommended. ” … 190 Montauk Highway, Speonk, 631-325-8400
- Lisa Amand has a list of 9 restaurants in Brooklyn that are open after midnight …
- Andrea Strong had the “most unbelievable chicken wings I have ever had the pleasure of consuming in my life” at Cercle Rouge … baked clams in an “incredible” chorizo sauce … “The creamed spinach, however, was bitter and murky and I could barely get through my first bite. The skate was even worse.” … an eater reader was “underwhelmed” (TWIR, September 23, 2005)… 241 West Broadway, 212-226-6252 [MenuPages]
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