Restaurant Reviews
Review: Gottino
Small plates pack big ambition at this delightful West Village (non) wine-bar
Arriving at an “enoteca and salumeria” with a vegetarian is perhaps not the most inspired of ideas. But it certainly raises an interesting question: Can vegetarians still have fun in a veritable shrine to meat?
Leaving aside the pigs trotters, bresaola and prosciutto, though, there was still a whole swathe of menu dedicated to cheeses, crostini, salads and dessert at Gottino, the still-not-officially-opened West Village resto courtesy of Morandi’s Jody Williams.
Admittedly, it was a little difficult to resist trying something meaty when so many delectable items screamed out from the menu (even the baked apples are stuffed with garlic sausage).
Not that there was any kind of panic. Read more
Filed under: Restaurant Reviews || Published in: Metromix.com
Review: Le Lupanar
LES French newcomer has flash and zeal. Can’t say the same of the food.
It’s disappointing when the peak of a meal comes right at the start. Appetizers arrive, filled with promise and a burst of creativity and flavor, only for inspiration to peter out once the entrees hit the table, and then fizzle completely by dessert.
Sadly, a visit to French-provincial newcomer Le Lupanar followed such a trajectory. However, the gut feeling was that this particular meal on this particular night could have been an unfortunate anomaly. Perhaps it was the competent and friendly waitress, or the tasteful wood and glass décor (a black-and-white projection of “Swingers” onto the back wall notwithstanding). Somehow, the energy of this newcomer to the Lower East Side managed to engender one’s confidence.
First, the good part: appetizers. Risotto balls were coated in a thin crispy layer that gave way to a “herbed” green, creamy center of soft grains. Three of them were brightly served on a bed of finely diced red- and yellow-pepper-“marmalade.”
The braised oxtail salad was a nice portion of rich beef shreds atop a salad laced with vinegary onions and finished with a salty bite of parmesan shavings. Satisfying and more-ish, we would have happily sampled other appetizers. More…
Filed under: Restaurant Reviews || Published in: Metromix.com
Review: BarFry
Josh DeChellis racks up frequent-fryer miles at his temple to tempura
Who needs an excuse to indulge in a meal consisting almost entirely of fried food?
BarFry, the West Village’s new tempura bar, is attempting a brave feat: convincing New Yorkers to ignore their nutritionists in the name of Japanese culture—or, at least New York’s derivation of it.
The restaurant is a collaboration between partners Rick Camac (5 Ninth, Fatty Crab) and chef Josh DeChellis (Sumile, Jovia), who took great pains to create the lightest possible batter by testing about a hundred prototypes.
What results are crispy morsels of vegetables, meat and seafood, which arrive in wooden boxes with a choice of sauces… More
Filed under: Restaurant Reviews || Published in: Metromix.com