Steve Cuozzo Tells Romera to Drop the Waters, Cut Prices

After New York's Adam Platt, the Post's Steve Cuozzo becomes the second pro critic to weigh in on what may be the strangest opening of 2011, Romera. The Cuozz awards the restaurant two stars and admits he enjoys, for the most part, the food at the $245 a head spot in the bowels of the Dream Hotel. That said he has a couple of key pieces of advice for the owners, ones they should heed if they want the place to remain open "past the early rush of obsessive foodies and moneybags pals of Dream Downtown Hotel owner Vikram Chatwal." His suggestions: 1. Cut the price by $100. 2. Drop the gimmicks like the flashcards. 3. Lose the waters. 4. Get rid of the creepy medical shtick (instruments, curtains, etc.). 5. Keep the food consistent. Otherwise, place has great potential! Cuozz concludes, "This restaurant needs to tell its tale on the plate, without smoke and water from the man behind the curtain. And at 50 percent off."

Will Dr. Romera take Cuozzo's tips? In another Post piece today, he tells Carla Spartos that he will not bend his creative will to the times, though he understands "what is happening in today’s society and economy."
· He doctors your palate (and wallet!) [NYP]
· Romera’s science fare [NYP]