“At Corton [Paul] Liebrandt finds the sweet spot between disciplined cooking and intricate, imaginative leaps,” Frank Bruni declares. [NYT]
Related: Corton’s Menu, Illustrated
Alan Richman calls April Bloomfield “America’s leading practitioner of the unlikely art of making British-style food taste good.” He is impressed with the John Dory, and with the chef’s skills: “It seems remarkable that a restaurant can do the opposite of what everybody else in New York is doing, and do it so well.” [Forked/GQ]
Related: First Look: Inside the John Dory
Gael Greene expects the John Dory to be a success: “It’s safe to predict you’ll want to come by too, not just because you’re masochistic and need to go where you can’t get in, but because the sea creatures are impeccably fresh and mostly good and the place is funny and finny.” [Insatiable Critic]
Robert Sietsema visits the Roosevelt Food Court in Flushing, which is the “best chance to sample cutting-edge regional specialties recently arrived from China.” [VV]
“Too often, Braeburn gives the impression that [Brian] Bistrong’s trying too hard, as if he doesn’t trust his ingredients or the discrimination of the diner,” writes Danyelle Freeman, who nonetheless believes the restaurant could make it with simpler dishes and bigger servings. [NYDN]
Jay Cheshes is also tepid on Braeburn. “The owners haven’t quite figured out what they want Braeburn to be,” he writes, adding that the food is “far too expensive to get a regular local crowd and not nearly special enough to be worth making a trip for.” [TONY]
David Bouley may be experiencing some expansion pains with Secession, which has a menu too big and erratically executed for Lauren Collins. But she’s hopeful: “Bouley doesn’t shy from improvements. Fix her up, chef.” [NYer]
Related: David Bouley, Culinary Cartographer
Don’t make Ryan Sutton go back to At Vermilion — he calls his experience there “among my worst of 2008.” [Bloomberg]
Related: A First Look at At Vermilion
