Tomorrow, Sam Sifton comes back into Manhattan to review the casual, not even two month-old seafood shack from Bobby Werhane, Choptank.
THE PLAYBOOK: Located in the old Bar Q space, Choptank is a Chesapeake Bay themed seafood spot that serves a mostly under $25 menu of fish, crab cakes, and chowders, with a fried chicken, steak, and cheeseburger thrown in for good measure. By the looks of it, the feel of it, its ambition, and (let's be real) the name, this puppy's an excellent onespot through and through. However, how-ev-er, it's been getting fairly positive reviews in the press from Jay Cheshes (liked it ok) to the RG (loved it), Sietsema (loved it), and The Cuozz (liked it a lot), with special praise going to its fried chicken and burger. And Sifton has made clear that a restaurant's ambiance and ambitions don't necessarily come into play when it comes to star count.
All in, it's a toss real toss up. But our gut call is a one.
SIFT HAPPENS: If the staff really screw the pooch on this one and Sifty is not amused by the casual atmosphere or wowed by the raved about fried chicken, he could throw a goose. But it probably won't be a curve ball on this one.
THE LINE: Goose Egg: 50 - 1; One Star: 2 - 1; Two Stars: 3 - 1; Three Stars: 500 - 1; Four Stars: 25,000 - 1. [Choptank Reviewed, NYT; after ~ 8PM]