The Other Critics

Cuozzo Mixed on Caffe Storico; ‘Tables for Two’ Likes Nights and Weekends

Ryan Sutton sheds light on Mas La Grillade, where, he writes, the squid is “brilliant,” but the service is “perfunctory and the room isn’t what you’d call inviting.” He suggests it as a date place, and adds, “Back on My Own Dime? Absolutely, for the oysters.” [Bloomberg]

Steve Cuozzo calls Caffe Storico at the New York Historical Society “the belle of the museum’s coming-out party,” but is displeased with the quality of its cuisine, calling some dishes “hit-or-miss.” He adds, “Let’s hope that in a few months, Caffe Storico has a better story to tell.” [NYP]

“Tables for Two” visits Nights and Weekends, where “the bar’s Latin-American theme makes the hands-off attitude seem fitting, even inviting.” The food is “better than any bar’s should be” and “worth waiting for.” [NYer]

Dave Cook profiles Singaporean-influenced eatery Masak, where he finds that with most items on the restaurant’s menu, “there’s more to it, the deeper you go.”
[NYT]

In his one-star review of Crown, Pete Wells writes that the restaurant “has no intention of frightening anyone” with its unoriginal cuisine. “Roast chicken with bacon and warm cabbage seems to be intended not for people who like the flavor of chicken but for those who aren’t aware it is supposed to have any flavor at all,” he laments. [NYT]

Lauren Shockey has mixed thoughts on new Japanese restaurant Family Recipe, finding that the mushroom salad tastes like “lemon Pine-Sol assaulted the plate.” She does, however, favor the okonomiyaki, which she calls “Family Recipe’s do-or-die dish.” [VV]

In Robert Sietsema’s summary of the modern-day French dip sandwich, he finds Walter Foods’ “not a bad bar sandwich, but not a real French dip, either,” and regards Joe Dough’s much the same way. At Waterfront Ale House, the meat served on his sandwich was “stone cold and none too tasty.” While he enjoyed the French dips at Hudson Diner, and Brennan and Car had Cuozzo’s approval for elements of authenticity, he most enjoyed the one at Minetta Tavern. [VV]

Cuozzo Mixed on Caffe Storico; ‘Tables for Two’ Likes Nights and