Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare serves “madai with a Japanese risotto made with sea urchin, coconut and garlic, a combination of great depth and interest — a dish to recall for months or more,” writes Sam Sifton, who awards César Ramirez’s unique restaurant three stars. “The restaurant has the capacity to leave customers with kaleidoscopic sense memories and the vague understanding that over the course of the meal something important has happened.” [NYT]
Related: Adam Platt on The Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare
Porsena’s “pasta is really the best thing going here, but if you’re craving wholesome fish or fowl, you could do worse than Jenkins’s juicy roasted chicken,” says Jay Cheshes. [TONY]
Sam Talbot’s Imperial No. 9 delivers more “good clean fun” than “you expect from a chef better-known for his ‘Top Chef’ persona than for a track record in actual restaurants,” writes a surprisingly good-natured Steve Cuozzo. There are some missteps along the way, but even still, “unlike at certain buzzy eateries … Imperial No. Nine is attitude-free and professionally run.” [NYP]
The food at Hofbrau Bierhaus is “remarkably cheap given the size of the portions. Unfortunately, much of it was awful, with a frozen-and-reheated taste that explained how the menu manages to be so ambitious,” says Robert Sietsema. “Things we didn’t hate included a giant homemade pretzel and jaegerschnitzel à la Holstein — a pair of breaded pork cutlets topped with bacon and a runny fried egg.” [VV]
At La Silhouette, “take comfort in a juicy roast chicken entrée, skin crackling and golden brown, escorted by Brussels sprouts and a porcini marmalade — Mom’s version will never taste as good,” writes Lauren Shockey. “Would I rather spend my dough elsewhere? Probably, though I’ll take the [prix fixe] dinner option any day. ” [VV]
Red Rooster’s “crab cake with spicy mayo is unremarkable. Much to my shock, chicken-liver stew toped [sic] with a fried egg and piled onto injera in a black cast iron baking pan is one of my two favorite dishes, along with oxtails braised in Mother’s Milk, perfectly cooked, backed up with the sweetness of plantains,” says Gael Greene. [Insatiable Critic]
Related: The New Toque in Town
Tortilleria Nixtamal is “perfecting the common denominator of any square Mexican meal — the tortilla,” says Silvia Killingsworth. “Tamales are substantive and delightfully savory; those with pork and chicken in a chipotle sauce are perfectly smoky and spicy, and those with roasted chiles, cheese, and tomatoes are an equally satisfying vegetarian treat.” [NYer]
