Kobe Club Nadir of the Genre; Pera’s Kebabs as Good as Street Meat!Bruni gives the Waverly Inn one star in a review that parodies a high-powered editor’s blathering about how cool the place is. But like most everyone else, he seemed to enjoy the food. [NYT]
Meehan, meanwhile, finds a barbecue trailer parked in front of an auto body shop in the Bronx. This even beats his review of that taco stand in a garage. [NYT]
Paul Adams likes the new Turkish restaurant Pera well enough, but in a Meehan-esque twist, suggests street kebabs are just as good. The place is big and elegant, but the Turkish specialties are largely “watered down for non-Turkish tastes.” [NYS]
Openings
Mon Dieu! Hell’s Kitchen Finally Gets Its BistroThe stretch of Ninth Avenue between 50th Street and 56th Streets teems with affordable restaurants serving Vietnamese, Puerto Rican, Italian, and diner food. But there are no contemporary, Balthazar-style French brasseries. Until tomorrow. Brasserie 52 is small but polished, the menu packed with standards like escargot with garlic butter, foie gras mousse, and steak au poivre. The relatively expansive bar and vaguely Continental brunch fare (eggs Florentine, spinach salad with warm bacon dressing) might just make it a local standby.
Brasserie 52, 772 Ninth Ave., nr. 52nd St.; 212-586-5005.