Reviews for Crown, Caffe Storico, Bowery Diner, and More

As noted yesterday, this week Pete Wells awards a disappointing one star to chef John Delucie's swanky Upper East Side restaurant Crown: "Like the work of the best Upper East Side caterers, most of the cooking at Crown is agreeably dull, with occasional pockets of excellence amid some patches of unalloyed boredom...In the end, there are really only two kinds of things to eat at Crown, concessions for dieters and rewards for carnivores...The carnivores walk away happier, naturally." [NYT]

Steve Cuozzo wishes Caffe Storico could live up to the hype and do justice to its setting: "Chicken liver crostini induce moans — the meat crumbly, herbally assertive and served on crunchy grilled bread. But doughy arancini and dreary octopus inspired little hope for the rest of the meal...Mis-timed pasta arrived lukewarm. Salmon ordered medium-rare was so overcooked it hardly resembled salmon. Inadequately braised veal osso bucco clung stubbornly to the bone." [NYP]

Ryan Sutton encounters some iffy service but delicious food at Mas La Grillade: "Good things happen when Zamarra trades gas burners for a 2- ton grill over a fiery pit...Squab ($36) comes medium rare and bloody, just a whiff of wood sheathing the faintly livery bird. Brussels sprouts, bacon and cippolini onions give it finishing-school elan." [Bloomberg]

Gael Greene likes Mathieu Palombino's new haute diner Bowery Diner okay but won't be coming back: "I like the look. I like the vintage diner airs with retro metal chairs in pastel hues. I like the pretty crowd. I like the waiter’s modish haircut. I’m nuts about this Reuben. If The Bowery Diner were in my nabe instead of $19.65 clicks on the taxi meter away, it would become one of my haunts." [IC]

Adam Platt awards two stars to Alain Allegretti's La Promenade des Anglais in Chelsea, noting that the chef "finally seems to have hit on a style...for this new dining age." He also awards one star to the grill-centric newcomer Mas (La Grillade) pointing out that "most of the dishes I sampled were devoid of that just-off-the-fire crackle and gusto that characterize the best kind of open-flame cooking." [NYM]

THE ELSEWHERE: Dave Cook files an Under on the exciting and deep Singaporean flavors of East Village restaurant Masak, the Wall Street Journal is into the pared down menu at Bobwhite Lunch and Supper Counter, Lauren Shockey is happy to find a place for her vegetarian friends to enjoy at the charming Family Recipe, and Tables for Two writes that Nights and Weekends has the attitude of a bar but the food of a good restaurant.

THE BLOGS: Chekmark Eats loves the apps and hates the entrees at Lowcountry, NY Journal has a pleasant meal at the newly opened North End Grill, Kika Eats gets a taste of the deliciously addictive Pok Pok Wing, The Food Doc is happy that Hadley Schmitt is working his magic over at Northern Spy Food Co., Serious Eats gives a B+ to the food at The Wren, NYC Foodie deems Ouest worth the hype, Immaculate Infatuation discovers killer buffalo chicken wings at Bonnie's Grill in Park Slope, and Eatery Row is surprised at the quality of the food at nightclub restaurant Beauty & Essex.