The Other Critics

Red Lantern Is Helmed by the Barons of Booty Bumping; True Bistro Could Make You A Vegan

• Christopher Muther offers a sneak peek into Red Lantern, which opened yesterday. Steered by Big Night Entertainment Group, these “barons of booty bumping” aim to create “Old Shanghai meets midcentury Palm Springs,” complete with pan-Asian meals worth lingering over. [Globe]

• Mat Schaffer loves Somerville’s True Bistro so much that we just might consider going vegan. Maybe. The Teele Square restaurant uses no animal products, eggs, butter, cream or honey, and the food is terrific anyway. “Not for a second will diners at True Bistro miss meats and/or dairy,” Schaffer declares. [Herald]

• Devra First visits Remick’s in Quincy, a city that “lacks the reputation as a dining destination” as compared with Cambridge and Somerville. Marc Orfaly’s newish creation “falls on the upscale side of casual.” Food is “all over the place,” some nights “intensely salty” and on other evenings “fine.” But kim chi po’boy sliders are pleasurable “Seoul food” and “juicy roast chicken is served with mellow garlic gravy” could become a go-to dish. Ultimately, it’s the possible spawn of “Cheers” and a “trendy Back Bay hot spot,” though we bet Cheers would never offer complimentary bacon as a bar snack. [Globe]

• Robert Nadeau heads to the “distant reaches” of Dorchester to try Ledge Kitchen & Drinks, whose lovely garden and patio simply can’t rescue the “uninspired” food. Here, “seasonal” vegetables consist of peppers and onions and a lobster roll, while generously apportioned, lacks a “live-lobster” taste. Fries are limp. Desserts are better, especially the un-P.C. “Eskimo bites.” Service was slow: One waitress disappeared like a “child on a milk carton” and yet another was “abducted” by aliens. [Phoenix]

• Leave it to MC Slim JB to unearth fabulous Sichuan cuisine at the otherwise unremarkable Thailand Cafe in Central Square. Here, the “Thai food has gone from middling to bad, but the Sichuan fare is the real deal: fresh, bracing, and loaded with the lingering fire of capsicum chilies (both fresh and dried) and the unique, galvanic tingle of Sichuan peppercorns.” We plan to order the double-cooked pork belly, “with chopped leeks and a hefty dose of Sichuan peppercorns, which look like tiny Pac-Mans.” [Phoenix]

• Kyle Wright visits Jason Santos at his new restaurant, Blue Inc. (we showed you the menu here), and everything’s going swimmingly. After all, “Santos’ highbrow-meets-Fritos approach turned his previous outpost, Gargoyles on the Square, into a Davis Square destination.” Indeed, don’t expect highbrow fine dining. ““I don’t care if I’m the best chef in town,” he tells Wright. “I just want to be the most fun.” [Improper]

• Brittany Jasnoff seeks sandwich satisfaction in the South End, dropping in on the Wholy Grain. While it’s not the Holy Grail of area sandwich shops, its Tollhouse Pie is a “sweet marvel” and a wasabi tuna salad is tasty, if a bit “skimpy.” In sum: It has potential. [Boston]

Red Lantern Is Helmed by the Barons of Booty Bumping; True Bistro Could Make You