The Other Critics

Sifton Picks His Faves; Sietsema Likes Lotus of Siam Pretty Well

In lieu of a formal review this week, Sam Sifton takes his turn rounding up his picks for the best new restaurants of the year. All of the restaurants you expect to be on the list are, including Fatty ‘Cue, the Breslin, ABC Kitchen, and Kin Shop, which Sifton calls “the sort of place everyone wishes to have in the neighborhood.” [NYT]

Robert Sietsema visits Lotus of Siam, and it sounds like he’s pissed that it’s more expensive than the Las Vegas outpost. (The wine list is “fiendishly expensive.”) Even still, Sietsema writes that the restaurant “achieves a level of pungency rarely seen in Siamese restaurants on this coast,” but warns that fans of true Thai food shouldn’t “stop trekking to Queens just yet.” [VV]

Lauren Shockey visits Karloff in Cobble Hill and, in doing so, finds a place with food that reminds her of Veselka’s with its “that cooked-by-an-Eastern-European-grandmother-once-she-made-it-to-America taste.” She likes the latkes and chopped salad, and warns that it’s the kind of place where you’ll want to linger. [VV]

“Tables for Two” hits Fat Radish this week and, while being annoyed with the crowd’s coolness, is eventually won over by food that’s “much better than it needs to be.” There are “ingenious appetizers” and a celery-root potpie that’s “proof that puff pastry makes everything better.” And the Counting Crows playing on the stereo is terrifically uncool. [NYer]

Sifton Picks His Faves; Sietsema Likes Lotus of Siam Pretty Well