The Early Word on Peter Hoffman's Back Forty West

Last year, Peter Hoffman closed the doors of his Soho gem Savoy in the hopes of reinventing the 20 year-old restaurant. A few weeks ago, after a complete overhaul of the space (he moved the bar and added a smoker, but kept the upstairs fireplace), he opened Back Forty West in its place. The name, menu, and design of the new spot were inspired by Hoffman's other restaurant, Back Forty on Avenue B. Many were heartbroken over the loss of Savoy, but so far its successor is making a good first impression. Take a look at what people are saying ahead.

The So Good You Don't Miss Savoy News: The Voice's Lauren Shockey really loves the pork sandwich: "The $12 sandwich naturally falls under the hands section, though the pork is rather saucy, so you could probably stick a fork in there, too. What makes the dish so good is the Red Carolina barbecue sauce: it possesses that perfect balance of sweet and tangy, thick enough to coat the meat, but not so much that it seems gloppy. The pork, meanwhile, is tender and juicy, and a side of pickled veggies adds both crunch and tartness, hitting all the major flavors you want in a sandwich. It makes the loss of Savoy, well, not really a loss at all." [FitR]

The Nailed the Babka News: A Foodspotter is a fan of the Chocolate Babka: "Love a good Babka and this baked in-house one was great...nailed the cake & the chocolate...Mmmmm" and shares some good ole food porn. [Foodspotting]

The Great News: One first day Yelper is impressed: "Back Forty West officially opened to the public today! I work in the SoHo area and stopped by for lunch. Great service, tasty food and chill atmosphere! Definitely recommend if you are in the area looking for a place to enjoy a cup of coffee or grab lunch/dinner. Enjoy!" [Yelp]

The Mostly Great News: Another Yelper is impressed: "Started off with the Pumpkin & Pistachio caponata which was delicious-a slice of grilled hearty bread with cheese topped with pumpkin, roasted fruits, and pistachio. I tried a bit of the Pork Face Nuggets which were fried with picked red onions on top. I really enjoyed the Smoked Amish Chicken Breast salad-it came in a wooden bowl and the chicken was cooked perfectly with a little bit of crisp skin. Then when we both saw blood orange we decided to order the Blood Orange Upside Down cake. It wasn't exactly what I expected-not as moist as I thought it was going to be (tasted a bit like corn bread) but the caradmom whipped cream was good." [Yelp]

The Good Grilled Bread News: One of the women behind the blog 75th and Sedgwick recently stopped in for lunch and...: "Verdict: YUM. I ate grilled bread with ricotta, pumpkin, and pistachios on top!" [75th+Sedgwick]

The Kale Salad News: Zagat's Kelly Dobkin likes the menu design and their healthy spin on Caesar Salad: "Under the "fork" section we tried the Grilled Kale & Escarole Salad which is a healthier version of a classic Caesar. The carby-croutons are swapped out for crispy chickpeas and the usual romaine greens are replaced by escarole and everyone's favorite trendy dark green, kale. (It's the new bacon.) The salad packed a salty bite, between the salty fried capers and the umami of the anchovies in the dressing, but the saltiness was mellowed out by the generous shavings of parmesan cheese on top. Definitely an upgrade from the usual caesar salad, and probably healthier too." [Zagat]

The Pretty Good News: Lunch Studio has lunch at Back Forty West and enjoys a couple sandwiches: "I knew M would want to try the crispy poached egg sandwich, the only question in my mind was how much of it I would get in exchange for some of my pulled pork sammy. If it was good but not fantastic, she would give me half, but if it were very fantastic, I might only get a bite. In the end I got 1/4. Not too bad considering the pulled pork sammy was pretty good itself. The new space of the now Back Forty West, formerly Savoy, is pretty. It feels smaller and still smells of fresh wood. Next time we're going back to try the fried chicken and waffles." [Lunch]

More Good News: A tip via Foursqaure: "the pulled pork sammy was tres magnifique. get a side of acorn squash tempura instead of your standard fried potato." And: "Had the poached egg open-faced Sammy. So glad I stopped by!" [Foursquare]

And Some Love from the Twitterverse: @Grubfinder likes it: "@backfortywest for dinner such good hearty locavore fare, sirloin, smoked ribs, shrimp with pineapple salsa, everything just plain good!!" As does Bob: "Liking #BackFortyWest in NY. Very chilled and the right side of trendy." [Twitter]