The Other Critics

Two Cheers for the Standard Grill; Alan Richman Loves Chang’s Chicken

The Standard Grill is “the right eatery at the right time — a fully realized, Modern American place amid a zoo of forward Italian, neo-Japanese, fancy steak, almost-French and wannabe Mexican joints,” says Steve Cuozzo. [NYP]

“You might say the Standard Grill is the first great, culinary landmark in the new High Line District,” agrees Danyelle Freeman. [NYDN]

Momofuku’s “is probably the best fried chicken I’ve had in New York since the glory days of Harlem’s Charles Gabriel,” Alan Richman enthuses. [Forked/GQ]
Annals of Fried Chicken: The Momofuku Secret Is Old Bay

Charlie Palmer took a risk when he made chef Chris Lee the star of the new Aureole, but it’s clear the two “share a reverence for seasonality, a knack with bold flavors, and an intensely American sensibility,” writes Jay Cheshes. [TONY]

“[I]t’s refreshing that newcomer SHO Shaun Hergatt, down the block from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., is trying to bring modern fine dining to Wall Street, via an almost-excellent selection of French-Asian fusion fare,” says Ryan Sutton. [Bloomberg]

A week after Caravaggio opened in the former Coco Pazzo space, Gael Greene finds “the place still not quite unwrapped, a big artwork has yet to arrive, and the kitchen is uneven.” Plus, it’s pricier than she had expected. [Insatiable Critic]

“Thai restaurants in Queens are legendary for food far more pungent, regional, and genuine than their tired, sugary, vegetable-carving counterparts in the other boroughs” says Robert Sietsema after visiting four news ones in Woodside and Astoria. [VV]

Two Cheers for the Standard Grill; Alan Richman Loves Chang’s Chicken