The E.U.: At opening night #38, The E.U. seemed, finally, at long last, almost ready for primetime. The new chef, Akhtar Nawab, unveiled his lineup of almost entirely new offerings (only the burger remains from previous iterations of the menu) to a buzzing though not packed dining room of locals, who will all be saying in a few months, "Jeez, too bad they don't serve vodka here. oopsy."
As for the new food, it's mostly solid and shows signs of great promise—more promise than delivery, so far, but as Jason Hennings reminded the Eater inspectors, "Please, please keep in mind Akhtar just got here." By way of ordering guidance, save for a good-to-very-good burger, the the main courses are a work-in-progress; gorging on the mostly excellent starters and mids is the prudent approach. The room, of course, has always been warm and comfortable and, get this, feels like a gastropub. Provided everyone can play nice, this may prove, improbably enough, an underdog story for the ages.
· E.U. Scores Akhtar Nawab for Kitchen, Actual Hope [~E~]