Latest From a Great Greek Pizza Clan DebutsNew York has rarely seen a pizzeria that looks anything like Dean’s Pizza, which opened four weeks ago on the Upper West Side. Built into the refurbished grand ballroom of an old hotel, it has high ceilings and ornate moldings that elevate the act of ingesting cheese and sausage. But the pizza itself is no surprise: Co-owned by Mirene Angelis and Nick Tsoulos, the place is the latest effort from the city’s most productive pizza-making family, the extended Angelis-Tsoulos clan.
Mediavore
Men Still Rule the Roost in Kitchens; April Bloomfield a Rai Rai Ken FanIt’s still a man’s world in the kitchen, as Annisa’s Anita Lo or Ratatouille’s Collette can tell you. [NYDN]
Count April Bloomfield in the Rai Rai Ken camp when it comes to the ramen wars. [Restaurant Girl]
Hill Country pitmaster and noted “barbejew” Robbie Richter has borderline cholesterol, a meat bond with Zak Pelaccio, and little interest in side dishes. [Metromix]
Related: Barbecue: The New Kosher Food?
The Other Critics
Insieme Just Misses; One Big Up and One ‘Eh’ for P*ONGInsieme’s bid for a third star went about the same way as Anthos’: two stars from Platt, then two stars from Bruni. [NYT]
Related: Italian, Old and New [NYM]
Randall Lane gives five of Time Out New York’s six stars to P*ONG. It’s the first major review the place has gotten, and more than enough to make up for getting dissed by the Sun. [TONY]
Paul Adams, in the Sun, finds Pichet Ong’s creations irritatingly twee and precious, except for the desserts upon which the chef’s reputation is built. Adams puts his finger on the problem: “The same creativity that in the earlier courses gives rise to confusing, unsatisfying combinations is more successful when the unifying power of sugar is involved.” [NYS]
In the Magazine
Gael Goes to the Port Authority; Ramsay Arrives, Presumably by Plane• In openings, Rob and Robin give pride of place to this week’s biggie, the British superchef Gordon Ramsay’s maiden New York venture, Gordon Ramsay at the London; signal the arrival of Pera Mediterranean Brasserie, a relatively ambitious Turkish restaurant in midtown; and acknowledge a new red-sauce restaurant, Dean’s Family Style Restaurant and Pizzeria (801 Second Ave., nr. 43rd St.; 212-878-9600).
New York Restaurant Openings and Buzz
• Gael Greene goes to Metro Marché at the Port Authority and gives what has to be the best review ever received by a restaurant in a bus station: “Amazingly good brasserie dishes at astonishingly gentle prices.”
Insatiable Critic
• Given that so much restaurant profit comes from the bar, you have to wonder why it took so long for restaurants to attach lounges. Rob and Robin look at four new ones: the Greek Kava Lounge, EN Shochu Bar (Japanese), and the eclectic Monday Room and Wined Up wine bars. All open over the next couple of weeks.
Rooms With Booze
