The Other Critics

Suba Called ‘Dazzling’; Shopsin’s Called…Shopsin’s

Suba, Boqueria’s ambitious sister restaurant, gets two stars from Frank Bruni, who goes so far as to say “the best of the food here is distinctive and exciting. In a few instances it’s even dazzling.” Suba, underbuzzed and on a bad block, needed a big boost and got it. [NYT]

Randall Lane isn’t impressed with the East Village Yacht Club, or for that matter Smith and Mills. Two stars out of six, and it sounds like they were lucky to get that. [TONY]

Peter Meehan’s review of the new Shopsin’s begins with his best lede ever: “Tolstoy had it wrong about happy families, because there are none like the Shopsins.” The food, though beside the point, sounds about as good as before. [NYT]
Related: A Taste of Kenny Shopsin

Po gets its first review from Paul Adams, who seems to have eaten everything on the menu and is, generally speaking, pleased with it, even though it skews toward heaviness. But given the reputation the place still has (the original was Mario Batali’s first restaurant), it sounds like it measures up, more or less. [NYS]

A new critic, Ligaya Mishan, writes the most unambivalently glowing take on 15 East yet: “A dish of handmade noodles, topped with creamy uni, is so luxuriant that it feels almost immodest to eat it in front of strangers.” [NYer]
Related: 15 East Offers a ‘Study in Seaweed’

Robert Sietsema, always a fan of Afro-Caribbean food, discovers a Barbadian restaurant in Brooklyn’s Bajan Café, and we have to say it sounds awesome. [VV]

Suba Called ‘Dazzling’; Shopsin’s Called…Shopsin’s