The Other Critics: TOC, Serious Eats, Tribune

• Julia Kramer takes a peek at Amelia’s, and finds a menu awfully familiar to that of the chef’s former restaurant Mundial Cocina Mestiza: Side dishes with aggresive, bright flavors that threaten to overwhelm the meats they’re accompanying, to varying degrees of success. The out-of-the-way location adds a frisson of intrigue. [TOC]

• Heather Shouse is a little meh on Jerry Kleiner’s revamped Via Ventuno (formerly Table 21) — its awkward, over-decorated space won’t ever be the homey trattoria that Kleiner’s food seems to be leaning for. In-house pastas and a stellar pastry chef go a long way towards counteracting the decor, though. [TOC]

• Mike Nagrant revisits Veerasway, after owner Angela Harper Lee got in touch with him after a previous tepid review. Happily, his second visit was notably better than the first, with the kitchen paying more attention to freshness and detail in their upscaling of traditional Indian flavors. [Veerasway]

• Monica Eng tries puts the newStarbucks breakfast “pairings” (that’s code for “combo meal”) to the test against the most popular breakfast combos at McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts. The ‘bucks emerges victorious. [Tribune]

• Phil Vettel brings the “chatting up a cute girl” metaphor in this didja-ever thinkpiece about changing your entree order mid-meal. Turns out most restaurants (or, at least, Eve, Province, and a place in Louisville) are totally okay with it! [Tribune]

[Photo of food at Veerasway via Polomex/flickr]

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The Other Critics: TOC, Serious Eats, Tribune