The Early Word on Andrew Carmellini's The Dutch

Last Monday, after months of anticipation, Andrew Carmellini's Soho restaurant The Dutch debuted its late night menu to the public. And on Wednesday, they opened for full dinner service. No one should be surprised to learn that Yelpers, bloggers, commenters, and Eater readers have swarmed the place in its seven days in operation and have filed their mostly wildly positive reports. A look at some of them is ahead.

The Believe the Hype News: NYC Foodie stops in at 1 AM and has a great meal: "I started with the little oyster sandwich ($4). After one bite, I was in love. It's a fantastic sandwich. A little sesame seed bun, with a beautifully cooked fried oyster, complemented with a great sauce. Order at least one...Smoked lamb links ($15), with local yogurt and red quinoa, was quite excellent too...After Greece, I took a side trip to Mexico, with the Barrio tripe ($14), beer and avocado. I tend to order tripe when I see it on a menu, and this tripe dish was beyond great. It's an amazing dish...Sometimes you just got to believe the hype. The Dutch is a great restaurant. I think it's an instant classic, and I will be a regular here for years to come. You should check it out too. I'll go with you if you want; we'll go Dutch." [NYC Foodie]

The Great News: Yelper Keoni B. finds a lot to recommend: "Scallion cornbread with chipotle butter given to everyone is a nice start and sets the tone for what kind of food you can expect here; comfy, simple food with sexy accouterments. For my initial meal I had the Tripe app and Black Sea Bass main. You've never had tripe like this. Braised for hours in beer it still has that tripe taste but with all the toppings' frito corn chips, radishes, avocado and onions, it feels like an interesting take chili. The Black Bass was cooked perfectly served on top of the green rice with a fantastic achiote sauce, citrus wedges adding a nice zing and matchsticks of either pear or cactus pear adding texture. Great food so far; I was told to try the fried chicken next time. I will." [Yelp]

The Looking Good News: Serious Eats runs a slideshow of dishes, noting it's too early for a review. But Ed Levine writes, "I will say that based on what we ate at the Dutch that Carmellini's restless culinary curiousity is well-served here, and that there is much delicious savory and sweet American food of all stripes to be had at The Dutch. We're excited to return." [SE]

The Good News: After checking out the oysters (they like them), The Oyster Blog assesses the rest of the menu: "Obviously, we had to start with the little oyster sandwich, typically known as an oyster po boy. Perfectly fried, the warm Blue Point oyster took center stage without being overpowered by the light and crispy cornmeal breading. The ultimate small bite to kick start the meal. Next up, we had the Peel N’ Eat Prawns. Served a long side a sweet red remoulade, the spiciness of the seasoning combined beautifully with the natural sweetness of the crustacean...For our entrees, we did a little surf and turf combo, ordering the Scallops and Pork chop. The Scallops seared with texture and flavor intact, were served along side robustly green spring peas and our favorite flavor of the night, the in house-pickled ramps. A very seasonal item, the vegetable in this dish brought out the naturally sweet flavors of the protein it so beautifully garnished. Although we found the pork chop to be a little tough, the smokiness, combined with the spicy glaze and swiss chard did the job in balancing it out." [The Oyster Blog]

The Not so Great News: Yelper Britton B. likes most of the food but encounters some service issues: "First things first, let's deal with the bartender. Flustered and not paying attention, he needed to ask for my drink order three times (Old Overholt and ginger ale) and still managed to pour the wrong spirit. I didn't bother correcting him because it was still rye and still ginger ale. No big deal. After ordering our food the waiter asked if I would like "another of the same" and I nodded. I was given a glass of Four Roses on the rocks. Interesting, thought I. Sure enough, at the end of the night there was a "2 Four Roses... $24" staring me in the face...Bottom Line: Come for a late night snack with friends and grab a few appetizers to share; stay away from the burger and try the Sloppy Duck or Fried Chicken instead. While the food was good, there is definitely room for improvement." [Yelp]

The Fantastic! News: A Menupages review: "I had high expectations when going to The Dutch because of all the hype leading up to the opening, and was not dissapointed! Ambiance and service was just wonderful. Great wine list, by the bottle and by the glass. Highlights of the meal were the fried oyster sandwiches, ceviche, bacon wrapped trout and pretty much the best biscuits I have ever tasted. The homemade pies are also incredible. I can't wait to go back and try out the rest of the menu!" [Menupages]

The Mostly Great News: A Tomato in Tribeca drops by and is pleasantly surprised: "hubs and i walked into andrew carmellini’s latest restaurant, the dutch, on saturday evening and walked away delightfully surprised. we didn’t observe any major operational hiccups...a remarkable achievement for a restaurant in its first 4-5 days of opening. the old cub room space has been redecorated with a gotham meets cape cod vibe. it’s casual, comfortable but at the same time hip without trying too hard to achieve the vibe...the menu, said to be in the american tradition, is much more interesting and eclectic than the categorisation might denote...my only substantial criticism of the cooking concerns the sides that we ordered. i thought the fries were over-salted. the spinach, which in theory should have paired nicely with shallots and chilis, tasted over-powered by the butter in which it was sautéed– olive oil might have been a better choice. [A Tomato in Tribeca]

Yet Another Rave: Manhattan by Way of Mayberry can only get a resy at 6 PM but she'll take it: "White Boy Asian Ribs - needless to say, Jeff wanted these. I have to admit - these were *the* best ribs I've ever had. They had this silky crusty top too that was just amazing. I commented to the waitress that she had one Texan and one Georgian and we were both blown away by the ribs...The Crab -- lump crab meat swimming in a bloody mary bath drizzled with some EVOO (genius!) and Green Goddess dressing. The crab app might sound simple and not too exciting, but this was one of the most exciting dishes of the evening...I had the grilled escolar (perhaps my star of the evening) and Jeff went for the scallops. I could eat an entire plate of the peas that accompanied the scallops - firm, fresh, and delicious. However, the scallops themselves weren't anything that great - I prefer mine to have a little more of a contrast in temperature in the inside and out. The beans in the escolar were quite nice, but the fish really just took it home...I think Andrew Carmellini could be the only one right now capable of bringing pulling New Yorkers out at 6 pm to eat dinner." [Manhattan by Way of Mayberry]
· All Coverage of The Dutch [~ENY~]