The Other Critics

Another Triumph for Dovetail; Another Disappointment for Bar Boulud

Citing cleverness, finesse and his own “hugely positive” experiences eating there, Frank Bruni gives Dovetail three stars to go along with Adam Platt’s. [NYT]
Related: This Dove Flies

Poor Bar Boulud, on the other hand, continues to get pilloried. Randall Lane gives it only three stars (of six), and no doubt it would be a lot worse if not for the world-class charcuterie. [TONY]
Related: Daniel Disappoints

Restaurant Girl, too, got her licks in on BB, giving it two stars (of four) for Syrah-heavy sauces, unreliable service, and mishandled snails and tartare. This has got to be killing Boulud. [NYDN]

Steve Cuozzo hits Madaleine Mae, Jonathan Waxman’s new southern-themed eatery, and finds it shaky. Waxman protests that they’ve only been open two weeks, and we have to side with him. Fair’s fair. [NYP]

Peter Meehan comes across Gazala Halabi, a stronghold of Druse Israeli cooking. It’s the only such eatery in New York to his knowledge, and he likes it a lot — though the menu sounds pretty similar to many non–Druse Israeli restaurants.[NYT]

Mike Peed, writing in Tables for Two, chooses to write about the Smith as a jokey “Talk of the Town” piece, rather than as a restaurant review. It deserves better. [NYer]

Two niche restaurants — Madaleine Mae and Merkato 55 — come in under Ryan Sutton’s view, and he seems to like them both. Madaleine Mae even gets a pass for its inauthentic aspects — it is in the meatpacking district, after all. [Bloomberg]

Matilda’s Tuscan-Mexican hybrid approach doesn’t faze Paul Adams, who finds the place enjoyable and likable, if not exactly earth-shattering. You get the sense that he approves of it as a solid neighborhood restaurant. [NYS]

Another Triumph for Dovetail; Another Disappointment for Bar Boulud