The Other Critics

Union Square Cafe Loses a Star; Greene and Freeman Check Out Hotel Griffou

Danny Meyer must ply the staff at Union Square Cafe “with either Method-acting classes or major pharmaceuticals” to get them to be so accommodating, jokes Frank Bruni. “The courtesies explain something else, too: the blind eye many Union Square regulars seem to turn to its slippage; their silence about its drift.” [NYT]

“The kitchen’s still slowish but getting more confident” at Hotel Griffou, writes Gael Greene. Chef Jason Giordano is “cooking to please himself and serious eaters for when the trendetti move on.” (Greene also coins the term burger sluts for haute-burger admirers.) [Insatiable Critic]
Related: First Look at Hotel Griffou, Opening for Public Previews Tonight

“Perhaps they should rebrand Hotel Griffou as a cocktail bar with good desserts,” decides Danyelle Freeman, who did not enjoy “tiny” portions of French-American food but clearly liked the drinks. [NYDN]

SHO Shaun Hergatt “harks back to the gilded age of junk bonds, Miami Vice fashions, and late nights at Nell’s,” but Jay Cheshes isn’t quite ready for a “revival.” [TONY]

“[T]hings at Harbour are not fine. Not the service, not the shtick, and definitely not the food,” writes Steve Cuozzo. [NYP]

Brooklyn may be “the culinary heart of New York” for Alan Richman, but he isn’t impressed with Mesa Coyoacán, and to improve, Brooklyn Star “needs time. Lots of it.” [Forked/GQ]
Related: A First Look Inside Brooklyn Star

DBGB might be regarded as Daniel Boulud’s first adventure in slumming,” writes Lila Byock, who finds that “the best dishes on the eclectic menu tend to be the cheapest.” [NYer]

Extending last week’s stint in the Hamptons, Ryan Sutton says “[t]he best thing about Nick & Toni’s is the parking lot.” Mezzaluna Amagansett fared better, however, thanks to “Manhattan-worthy pastas” and smart “electrical outlets beneath the bar” for charging phones. [Bloomberg]

“Named after a Black Sea lagoon, Liman is a Turkish restaurant that offers some of the freshest seafood in Brooklyn,” writes Robert Sietsema. [VV]

Union Square Cafe Loses a Star; Greene and Freeman Check Out Hotel Griffou