Though the food sounded pretty good at Ilili, the place treated Steve Cuozzo so badly that the Cuozz was forced to pay them back with an atomic review — one that sounds richly deserved. [NYP]
In one of his silliest reviews, Frank Bruni goes on for half the article complaining that restaurants don’t always fit in neat categories, then punishes Grayz for it with a blistering one-star review. Odd. [NYT]
Bruni’s mini-review in Dining Briefs is much more logical and succinct: “That’s Belcourt: the predictable made surprising; comfort with a wink.” Meanwhile, on the undercard, Peter Meehan was mostly pleased with Graffiti, despite its minute size, and Marian Burros not so happy with Lucy of Gramercy. [NYT]
Paul Adams find in the tiny, cramped room and “toy-sized” kitchen at Graffiti one of the most impressive debuts he’s written about in a while; the writeup is almost mouthwatering at times. [NYS]
What did Market Table do to piss off Robert Sietsema? In a rare upscale jaunt, the Voice’s intrepid critic comes down on the place for crimes against Haute Barnyard ethics and its own original press release. [VV]
Restaurant Girl is impressed with the solid-state construction of Shorty’s.32’s comfort foods, and says so in her two-star review. [NYDN]
Hidden kaiseki gem Kyo-Ya, in the East Village, is made to sound pretty good in Leo Carey’s review, which praises the unassuming place for its seriousness and authenticity. [NYer]
Ryan Sutton is the first critic to go to town on Ilili’s $10 falafel and finds it — wait for it, wait for it — “no tastier than the cheaper kebabs or shawarmas I’ve tried in Queens…” Dévi does even worse, getting hammered for a lamb chop that was “nearly raw,” short ribs with a “mucky, murky tamarind glaze,” and calf’s brains that were “funky and chunky.” Sutton is getting tougher. [Bloomberg]
Randall Lane gives three stars (of six, mind you) to Back Forty, but the review makes the place sound really, really terrible; no zero-star review could be less appetizing. [TONY]
