The Other Critics

Sifton Deems Takashi ‘Quite Good’; Cheshes Cheers for Hecho en Dumbo

The food at the “modest and wondrous strange” Takashi “is probably not for everyone,” Sam Sifton concedes. But “its eccentricity is honest, its atmosphere winning and its food quite good.” [NYT]

Hecho en Dumbo “is a full-fledged hot spot,” says Jay Cheshes. The restaurant has “killer drinks, an ear-splitting soundtrack and very good food.” [TONY]
Related: First Look: Hecho en Dumbo on the Bowery

Tamarind Tribeca “might not please those with rigid notions of Indian cooking, or who think they know it from spending a week’s vacation in a nation of 1.4 billion people,” Steve Cuozzo writes. “But for the rest of us, it’s the year’s first bona-fide, exotic thrill on a grand scale.” [NYP]

The hamburger at Savoy “deserves a place in New York’s burger pantheon,” declares Ed Levine, who deems it “one of New York’s top three or five burgers.” [Serious Eats NY]

The food at Ted’s Montana Grill “was so unappealing I dismissed the place as yet another inconsequential chain restaurant,” says Alan Richman. On a second visit, “the meal was considerably better, which didn’t make it good.” [Forked & Corked/GQ]

Cienfuegos is “ever so-slightly theme-parkesque,” says Ryan Sutton. It’s “sometimes a New York riff on Cuba or Cartagena, sometimes New York imitating a Vegas hotel imitating Cuba or Cartagena, except with better beverages at tri-state prices.” [Bloomberg]
Earlier: Inside Cienfuegos

Robert Sietsema finds “a certain elegance” at Sheepshead Bay Turkish restaurant Halikarnas, while neighboring Marmaris is “nothing short of spectacular,” where the “onion-laced adana kebabs are great, smoky from the grill and long enough to be used as fencing swords.” [VV]

Gael Greene visits Bar Artisanal, where “the paella alone is definitely worth [the] trek downtown.” [Insatiable Critic]
Related: What to Eat at the Newly Spanish Bar Artisanal

Sifton Deems Takashi ‘Quite Good’; Cheshes Cheers for Hecho en Dumbo