Wild Salmon Starts Its Upstream Journey Strongly; Craftsteak UpgradedAlan Richman has a few qualms about Wild Salmon – its reason for being, for example – but likes both the food (except for the sauces) and the service (when it’s not too friendly). Given how ready Richman is to knock restaurants, owner Jeffrey Chodorow has to feel pretty good about this one. [Bloomberg]
Related: Wild Salmon Swims Into View. Yes, ‘Pun Intended’ [Grub Street]
The newly revamped Craftsteak and Craftbar get rereviewed by Bruni, who awards the less than the white-hot former a much-needed second star, and the latter, “more or less back on track” after earlier troubles, a (borderline) single star. [NYT]
Time Out’s Randall Lane lays four stars (out of six) on Gilt, finding Chris Lee’s cooking admirable all around, if less risky than that of his predecessor, Paul Liebrandt, who still keeps popping up whenever the restaurant is discussed. [TONY]
Related: Gramercy Rehab [NYM]
The Other Critics
‘New Yorker’ Backs Up the Chowhounds; Sietsema Uncovers a FoodThe New Yorker discovers Sripraphai, and though baffled by its vast and uneven menu, admits that the chowhounds were right to glorify the place. [NYer]
Sietsema provides his readers with a major service this week, guiding them through one of the city’s best and most baffling food courts in the Flushing’s J&L Mall [VV]
Rosanjin gets the two-star Bruni treatment in its first review, and seems to only have missed a third star by reason of anticlimactic later courses. Still, an auspicious start. [NYT]
Neighborhood Watch
Coney Island War Escalates; Ice Cream Ruined in Tragic MeltingBoerum Hill: One Girl Cookies will show you how to bake bread, then have you eat it with cheese. It’s all part of a two-part course slated for March 26 and 27. [eating for brooklyn]
Coney Island: The corn-dogs-versus-condos battle escalates as a new opposition group unites against Thor Equities in Coney Island. [Gowanus Lounge]
Harlem: Tomorrow from 6 to 8 p.m. East Harlem Cafe will host a Central and South American coffee tasting. The tippling’s free if you show up on a burro (or show up at all). [UPTOWN flavor]
Midtown East: French-Moroccan restaurant-lounge Azza opens tomorrow in the space that formerly held Fizz, a club so private it went out of business. [NYT]
Soho: A former sous-chef for Pearl Oyster Bar will open Ed’s Lobster Bar Friday. And yes, his name is in fact Ed. [NYT]
West Village: Eater boys “live-blog” Jody Williams whipping up her first lunch at Morandi. [Eater]
Williamsburg: Isn’t it ironic … A fire damaged a garage full of Koolman ice-cream trucks last night. [i’m not sayin, i’m just sayin]