Chef Marcus Jernmark is “cooking and serving excellent food at Aquavit, bold and honest,” says Sam Sifton, pleased that the new team “has moved the menu toward a quiet, seasonal intensity that is well worth investigating.” [NYT]
Related: Aquavit Names Marcus Jernmark Executive Chef
Mari Vanna’s food “isn’t two-star stuff, but the place is a two-star experience,” says Steve Cuozzo, citing a room that’s “almost too pretty — a cozy dacha that blurs czarist, Bolshevik and Putin-era fantasies.” [NYP]
Related: Mari Vanna, a New Spot for Caviar and Horseradish Vodka
“Milos in New York is one of the best Greek restaurants in the world,” raves Alan Richman. “Many fine-dining restaurants receiving acclaim lately are those adhering to the same principles: Simplicity. Purity. Perfection. Identity.” [Forked & Corked/GQ]
The atmosphere at the Plaza Food Hall “conjures a convincing facsimile of the transatlantic food hall experience,” admits Jay Cheshes, but the food is less successful. The “beautifully blistered, at once supple and crisp” pizzas are the only draw. [TONY]
Related: A Sneak Peek at the Plaza Food Hall by Todd English
A-Wah defies stereotypes of a Hong Kong–style restaurant, Robert Sietsema writes. It serves bo zai fan, rice casserole, in a “bright, plainish room whose only notable decoration is green-checked tablecloths that might have been selected by a colorblind Italian restaurateur.” [VV]
Gael Greene “can’t wait to return” to tiny Chelsea Vietnamese restaurant Co Ba; she feels “like an accidental tourist” in the too-hip dining room at Má Pêche, despite being a fan of its “muscular Vietnamese-French dishes.” [Insatiable Critic]
Related: Má Pêche’s Menu, Illustrated
The sandwiches at This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef are “dripping and spongy, with cheese like a dream … the kind of thing you gobble down in a fever,” says Lauren Collins. “You can’t do it every day, but you can’t not do it, either, one of these nights.” [NYer]
Related: Artichoke Basille’s Crew Opens Roast-Beef Sandwich Shop