Tulsi “serves a wickedly fine duck moilee — a delicate coastal curry softened by coconut milk — and a deeply flavorful curried monkfish with pomegranate sauce, the spices within each dish rendered distinct and powerful in the cooking,” writes Sam Sifton. At Junoon, “the tandoor dishes are delicate beneath their crusts: sweet lobster under a cloak of cumin, cayenne and lemon, with ground fennel; venison amped up on ginger and nutmeg.” [NYT]
Tulsi’s “regional Indian-inspired creations are original, complex and steeped in powerful, mysterious curries that stay in your mind for days,” says Steve Cuozzo. “Savory banana dumplings set us giddily on fire: Stuffed with cashews and figs, they were sparked by green chilies, red chili powder and ginger that still left room for fruit and nut to shine through.” [NYP]
Related: First Look at Hemant Mathur’s Tulsi, Opening Next Week
Sol de Quito “comes alive around 9 in the evening, when the regulars appear in ones and twos to nurse a beer and have one of the meal-size soups,” says Robert Sietsema. “Most curious is sopa de bolla ($8.99, “sphere soup”), a huge leathery dumpling of mashed green plantains that rises out of the bowl like a blunted volcano, concealing ground meat, vegetables, and chopped eggs.” [VV]
At M. Wells Diner, “the tureen of tomato soup was a great soup on its own, but when we dipped the accompanying grilled cheese sandwiches stuffed with foie gras into it, it was as intensely pleasurable a bite of food as I’ve had this year,” says Ed Levine. [Serious Eats NY]
Mehtaphor’s “menu of sharable plates runs the gamut from tasty treats to more disappointing duds, but nothing is snooze-worthy, for sure,” says Lauren Shockey. “Best to gobble the goat cheese, crab, and truffle pizza ($12)—a gooey ode to rich-people party food.” [VV]
Related: First Look at Mehtaphor, Jehangir Mehta’s Small-Plates Spot in the Duane Street Hotel
Edi & the Wolf’s “steak with fried peppers and a sea bass with squash and sunchokes [are] both good, if tilting toward American supper club,” writes Mike Peed. [NYer]
David Burke Kitchen’s “smoked barley risotto with little flutters of mushroom deserves attention as more than a $7 side. Pair it with jalapeno French fries cooked in smoked beef fat, divide an entrée — it’s a carbophiliac’s dinner for two,” says Gael Greene. [Insatiable Critic]
At Del Frisco’s, “portions are Texas-size, perhaps bigger than at any other city meatery. But I may as well be at Outback. The $65 ribeye is greasy, salty and has the mouthfeel of a sponge,” writes Ryan Sutton.
[Bloomberg]
