The Other Critics

Sutton Takes Del Posto Down, Thinks He and Hamburger Helper Can Do Better at Home

Photo: Courtesy of Del Posto

While Mario Batali continues to celebrate Del Posto’s Times review in interviews and name-droppy blog posts, Ryan Sutton of Bloomberg is the first critic to take the place down a notch, in a review that pretty much flies in the face of Sifton’s. Not only does he say the $500,000 in renovations weren’t apparent to him, but he seems to prefer the “earlier, better Del Posto”! Trying the $125 to $500 “Collezione” menu, he says you can find superior versions of certain dishes at Marea, Osteria Morini, ’Inoteca, and even Batali’s own “still-brilliant Babbo,” while “others make you wonder whether you could do better at home.” (Who knows, with the new Batali app, maybe you can!) He even compares the “ghastly” 100-layer lasagna to Hamburger Helper. Okay, but what about the service that Sifton thought was “warm and practiced”? Sutton complains that it’s sometimes “oppressive” and it “starts to fall apart in the later hours.” Acknowledging that Del Posto has “one of the city’s best mixology programs,” he says it’s “better simply to come early and have a drink at the bar.” The final verdict: two stars, meaning “good, reliable.” Okay, so which review is good and reliable? Yeesh.

Oh, and for another takedown of a celebrated Italian chef, check out Toronto Life’s review of Scarpetta today: ‘The food is as authentically rustic as your average Muskoka McMansion.”

Del Posto’s $500 Menu Brings Mushy Lasagne, Boring Bolognese: Ryan Sutton [Bloomberg]
Empire state of mind: Chris Nuttall-Smith takes on Scott Conant’s Scarpetta [Toronto Life]

Sutton Takes Del Posto Down, Thinks He and Hamburger Helper Can Do Better at