Pete Wells Awards Two Stars to Arlington Club

Although he warns that the sushi should be avoided at all costs, Pete Wells loves many of the dishes that are coming out of Laurent Tourondel's kitchen at Arlington Club. The steaks are good, but the side dishes steal the show:

I thought I never needed to taste another chef's take on macaroni and cheese until I tried the one at Arlington Club, and was struck by the way Mr. Tourondel had contrived to give each noodle a golden tip of crust, and had bound them all together in a powerfully smoky Gouda sauce.

When I saw a side dish of truffled gnocchi on the menu, I didn't expect it to do much more than pad the check. But the little dumplings in cream and melted Parmesan were so delicate that they immediately collapsed on the tongue into yielding parcels of mashed potato.

These dishes and others are the kind of things that make you start plotting your next meal at Arlington Club as you're calculating the tip.

Ryan Sutton awards two and a half stars to Esca. The crudo plates frequently miss the mark, but the linguine with clams is a classic: "The $26 dish isn't just great, it is as iconic as Peter Luger's steak. The clams are absurdly briny and that's precisely the way it should be (waiters make this explicitly clear upon ordering). The salt hits your tongue first, followed by chili pepper the way lightning follows thunder. The pasta is firm, no overcooking here." [Bloomberg]

Tejal Rao files on Kyle Knall's Southern restaurant, Maysville: "Although the small menu could be reconfigured a bit to better reflect portion size and avoid any repetition, Maysville is a restaurant to visit and enjoy immediately. Knall is a partner here with the whiskey-loving Sean Josephs and Brad Danler of Brooklyn's Char No 4., and the team leads a professional, eager-to-please waitstaff in a warm, welcoming dining room." [VV]

Stan Sagner awards three stars (out of five) to Jeepney: "Among the more satisfying offerings is Pancit Malabok Negra ($17 small; $27 large), a variation on classic squid-ink linguini. Here, it employs toothier rice-based noodles tossed in a nuanced shrimp romesco. Piled atop is a huge assortment of seafood with a bonus crunch of chicharron. It is a dish almost impossible to dislike. Its earthbound counterpart is the intriguingly named Defeated Chicken ($18), a rich, dark stew of pig's feet and chicken braised in a wonderfully complex adobo with sharp hints of ginger, cinnamon and soy." [NYDN]

Jay Cheshes gives two stars (out of five) to Elizabeth Falkner's Brooklyn pizzeria, Krescendo: "Though her blistered Neapolitan-style rounds feature excellent crispy crust, her pizzas are rarely on par with New York's best—standard-bearers like Motorino and Kesté. The Margherita 'Extra,' finished with mealy cherry tomatoes, is a bit too soggy with tomato puree. The Californication, a busy white pie, features an overabundance of Golden State flavors—bitter arugula pesto, spicy shishito peppers, goat cheese and honey." [TONY]

THE ELSEWHERE: Gael Greene has two pleasant meals at Sirio on the Upper East Side, Ligaya Mishan loves the Middle Eastern fare at Zizi Limona in Williamsburg, Andrea K. Scott of Tables for Two thinks that El Toro Blanco is formulaic but enjoyable, and Robert Sietsema recommends the mutton entrees and the egg dishes at Chennai Flavor in Jersey City.

THE BLOGS: Serious Eats gives an A minus to Mighty Quinn's, the Immaculate Infatuation boys are not won over by El Toro Blanco, Eat Big Apple revisits Alobar in Long Island City, Chekmark Eats loves everything about Perla, NYC Foodie has a solid meal at Banjara on East Sixth Street, The Pink Pig thinks that Schnipper's Quality Kitchen serves a decent cheeseburger, Goodies First checks out Qi Thai Grill in Williamsburg, and NY Jouranl has a good meal at Willow Road.
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