The Other Critics

One Star Seals the Deal for Irving Mill; Ilili Surprises in a Good Way

The story on Irving Mill was written before Frank Bruni delivered the coup de grâce — an ambivalent one-star review that pointed out the restaurant’s odd inconsistencies. At this point, a one star was probably a best-case scenario for the place. [NYT]

Speaking of best-case scenarios, we bet that Gordon Ramsay had higher hopes for Bruni’s rereview of his big restaurant than the one that runs in Dining Briefs. Bruni finds Gordon Ramsay at the London still excellent but boring, and Peter Meehan isn’t too crazy about Bun. [NYT]

We heard that Ilili was a disaster, with bad service and worse food. So did Paul Adams, who was surprised to find that the word on the street was dead wrong. Adams even calls the food was “far, far better than it needs to be.” [NYS]

Danyelle Freeman finds Smith’s to be noisy and inconsistent, but she likes a few dishes and the swanky bar enough to give the restaurant two (of four) stars. [NYDN]

Lauren Collins, finally getting to the point after an endless rehashing of Tailor’s backstory, seems to like some of the dishes there and wishes the place well. [NYer]

The apple has apparently fallen far from the tree, or at least that’s what we gather from Randall Lane’s three-star (of six) take on the new Mermaid Inn on the Upper West Side. Community Food and Juice gets a single throwaway paragraph, hardly enough to justify its own three stars. [TONY]

One Star Seals the Deal for Irving Mill; Ilili Surprises in a Good Way