Everybody Loves Sfoglia; Meehan Loves All BBQ

Bruni two-stars Sfoglia, the latest victory in a series for the Nantucket import, including nods from Adam Platt and Gael Greene in our Best of New York issue. The food is simple and rustic (frittatas, simple pastas), but it works for Bruni. Imagination can get you two stars, as the Ssäm Bar review showed last week, but so can execution, even if it isn’t very elaborate. [NYT] Peter Meehan surveys nearly all the area’s BBQ restaurants, finding a lot to like: the pulled pork at Pies-N-Thighs and the burnt ends at RUB, to name two. Still, no revelations here. [NYT] Sietsema hits up a Senegalese restaurant in Harlem: “Predictably, the dibi is awesome.” You said it, Bob! Has Sietsema ever met a foreign lamb dish he didn’t like? [VV]

Posted 03/07/07 in Grub Street : The Other Critics

Tags: bbq, frank bruni, harlem, moira hodgson, peter meehan, randall lane, robert sietsema, rosanjin, rub, sfoglia, sugiyama, the house, the inn lw12, the monday room, The Other Critics, the waverly inn

How Not to Have a Soul-Crushing Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is typically the busiest restaurant night of the year, so of course it sucks. But the food, rendered an afterthought, suffers most of all: The restaurateurs are busy counting their money, not watching the kitchen, and the couples, well, they’re wondering why they’re participating in this charade in the first place, seeing as how the flame flickered out years ago, and … what were we saying? Oh, right. We understand why Valentine’s dates might not seem to be worth the trouble, so we thought long and hard about which holiday recommendations to make.

Posted 01/31/07 in Grub Street : User's Guide

Tags: 5 ninth, french, little owl, orsay, the monday room, User's Guide