The Other Critics

Mado Rocks the Pork; Blue Ocean Crashes and Burns

A selection of Mado's charcuterie
A selection of Mado’s charcuterie Photo: Mado

• Phil Vettel three-stars Mado, praising chef Rob Levitt’s commitment to in-house butchery and nose-to-tail consumption. Not a single pork dish meets with his displeasure — and he particularly loves the garlic sausage — but the flavors in some non-pork preparations could be, ahem, beefed up. [Tribune]

• A wholly disastrous meal at Blue Ocean causes Julia Kramer to write off the restuarant’s eighteen positive Yelp reviews as entirely erroneous: tuna comes out mealy and warm, sashimi is near-frozen and flavorless. And oh yeah, she doesn’t like Yelpers. [TOC]

• David Tamarkin finds most of the menu at Orvieto blandly disappointing, but not so the white pizzas, which are a revelation. The “white” theme continues: the best of the entrees was tilapia served with a pale collection of artichokes, potatoes, and cauliflower. [TOC]

Mado Rocks the Pork; Blue Ocean Crashes and Burns