The Other Critics

Patty U. Is Delighted By the Food, But Not the Environment, at Broken Record

Photo: Random J./Yelp

Patricia Unterman marvels this week at the latest evolution in food service: dive bar food windows. Having sucked up her distaste for street food at Off the Grid, she finds herself pleasantly surprised by what the kitchen of Shane Lavalley and James Moisey is doing at Broken Record (1166 Geneva Avenue), even though she “find[s] the place miserably uncomfortable.” (This is much like how Michael Bauer managed, against all odds, to get past the grunge at Mission Chinese Food.) She says of the Texas Toast, smothered in gravy, chicken, and sausage, “the flavor is deep and perfectly balanced,” and she calls the crawfish grits “smoky, residually hot and engaging.” Also, funnily enough, she calls the pork fries “a revelation — thick, greaseless, crunchy, waffle-cut fries layered with moist hunks of succulent braised pork, creamy cheese sauce, a splash of Tabasco, scallions and a little American flag on a toothpick to commemorate ‘nachos gringos.’ Makes me proud.” [Examiner]

Patty U. Is Delighted By the Food, But Not the Environment, at Broken Record