It may share a a wall and a chef with The Gage, but Phil Vettel calls Henri the “anti-Gage, a light-filled, white-tablecloth room whose 60-odd seats are so generously spaced that ambient conversation rarely rises above a murmur.” While not a “cheap night out,” he gives the restaurant three stars and says that the food is “heavy on classic dishes but interspersed with modern touches.” [Trib]
David Tamarkin thinks Henri is the “most striking, most breathtakingly opulent restaurant to open this year,” with “a menu that hearkens to an era when rich was always a compliment.” Unfortunately the food is “hit or miss,” and the prices are steep. While dinner is worth the extra cash for the “perfection of the service and the care put into the food,” the lunch seems “out of touch with the economic climate.” [TOC]
Though the waiter accidentally spilled some wine on Michael Nagrant during his visit to Davanti Enoteca, it didn’t seem to bother him: “As long as the risotto is al dente and the pork belly crispy, you can spill anything you want in my lap and probably get away with it.” The pizza della Fattoria “is better than any pie I’ve had at Nella,” and the “giant rigatoni with rustic hunks of sausage, oven-roasted tomato and creamy parmigiano, rivals a slice of Pequod’s sausage pizza, a food that’s currently in my top-ten Chicago comfort foods hall of fame.” [NewCity Resto]
Daniel Zemans may love the adaptability of pizza, but he is not impressed with the raw pizza at RAW. The crust “had the flavor and texture of thick, moist, and grainy all-grain bread dough,” while the vegan cheese was “gummy” and a “like some sort of bad molecular gastronomy nightmare.” While raw food vegans will probably live a “healthier life than the rest of us,” they “have also chosen a life without good pizza.” [Serious Eats]
