Frank the Tank drops his review on Graydon Carter's Monkey Bar today, giving it the same star count that he awarded its clubby sister restaurant The Waverly Inn, a onespot. It's a clubhouse! No, it's a cruise ship! A big-game reserve "for the lions, gazelles and jackals of the urban veldt," it's Graydon Carter's social pulpit! As expected, the Bruni has some fun with this one:
"Mr. Carter, the raconteur-cum-restaurateur, decrees who gets in and which table they occupy. And he fashions a fantasy New York where arrivistes bask in mutual recognition and reciprocal adoration, each mirroring the others’ sense of triumph, the unruly city edited down to one preposterously romantic room for the most unromantic of pursuits: back scratching and social climbing."
Giving the Bruni a 6:30 resy is one thing, but losing his reservation completely?:
"...I had to plead to be let in...it would be less forgivable if there wasn’t actually something to savor on the far side of the velvet rope, along with signs that Mr. Carter and his crew truly care about that."And in the end, how is the food? "...you can eat well if you order carefully." [NYT]
The critics have collectively decided that now is the time to file on Michael White's Marea. First up: Jay Cheshes, who gives it four stars: "the restaurant...suffers from a split personality, with a menu sprawling enough to service the two distinct venues it could easily be...White seems torn between traditional reverence and his own creative impulses." [TONY]
Next up, Alan Richman does a little lobbying for a Bruni four star: "...he might want to do even more: become the first Times critic to give four stars to an Italian restaurant...Let me provide a touch more ammunition: This is the best restaurant from Cannon-White...I tried 17 dishes, and I loved all but three of them. That’s an excellent percentage..." [GQ]
And to wrap it up, Ryan Sutton: "Marea...is precisely what some say New York doesn’t need amid a recession: an extravagant, expensive restaurant. I say it’s exactly what we need during a recession: an outstanding restaurant." [Bloomberg]
THE ELSEWHERE: Oliver Schwaner-Albright likes the unorthodox combinations at Desnuda in the East Village, Ligaya Mishan files on the new food program at Eat in Greenpoint, Gael Greene is wowed by Aurole and sends some love to her old standby Compass, Sietsema tries out the Iraqi food at La Kabbr in Hell's Kitchen, Tables for Two favors small plates over entrees at Sorella, and Metromix is a fan of Recipe.
THE BLOGS: Easy Ed gives "kick ass diner" Gus & Gabriel a B+, Always Eating finds a great steak under $20 at Prime Meats, The Pink Pig is impressed by the seafood at Harbour, Boozy NYC loves the cocktails at Ward III, and A Tiger in the Kitchen tries out the new Water Taxi Beach on Governor's Island.