The Other Critics

Praise for 2nd Avenue Deli and Dovetail; Southgate Suffers

Frank Bruni can’t help but make a one-act play out of his one-star 2nd Avenue Deli review: Sholom Aleichem by way of Oscar Wilde. A classic review, even if you don’t come out of it knowing much about the food at 2nd Avenue Deli. [NYT]

Reviewing on his blog, Alan Richman delivers a less colorful, but more accurate and knowing account, of the place, which is even more admiring. [GQ]

Ryan Sutton isn’t impressed one bit by Southgate — he thinks it’s expensive and uninspired, broadly speaking. Not a whit of enthusiasm here. [Bloomberg]

Meanwhile, glowing reviews of Dovetail continue to file in: Here’s Danyelle Freeman, nearly exhausting her vocabulary of superlatives. [NYDN]
Related: This Dove Flies [NYM]

Paul Adams pays the place a true compliment: “[Dovetail Chef John Fraser] earns the license to put his whimsies on the plate in this way, by never forgetting to cook deliciously as well as conceptually.” [NYS]

There never was any doubt that Moira Hodgson would be onboard the Dovetail bandwagon. Its refined, inventive, meticulous food was bound to please her, and indeed, she likes the place very much. [NYO]

Zen Burger, Patisserie des Ambassades, and theater-district sushi house Omido come in for Times briefs. The result: three “meh” reviews, with Zen Burger getting the worst of it. [NYT]

If you want to go to Bay Ridge, but for some reason don’t want to go to Damascus Gate, Robert Sietsema has the place for you. It’s called First Oasis. [VV]

Randall Lane lays four stars (of six) on Bar Blanc’s “rich and classic” cooking. Everything is braised and slow-cooked, always bait to critics. [TONY]

Praise for 2nd Avenue Deli and Dovetail; Southgate Suffers