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[Marco's by Daniel Krieger]
Pete Wells likes the somewhat sophisticated vibe of Franny's spinoff Marco's. The critic also finds several winners on chef Danny Amend's menu:
On his menu, antipasti are followed by pastas that are succeeded by fish and meats. This sounds like Italy, but it tastes like Northern California. The late San Francisco chef Judy Rodgers may have thought up the casually Mediterranean and very charming fried egg, sunny-side up, crisscrossed with rosemary needles and sent out with roasted mushrooms and sweet, soft pumpkin. Paul Bertolli may have grilled the duck gizzards on a double-pronged skewer and served them with a jammy puddle of red grape must.Wells has issues with the portion sizes of some dishes, and he notes that the wine list is "dangerous," but overall, he thinks the restaurant is worthy of two stars. [NYT]
[Photo by Daniel Krieger]
Ryan Sutton offers his list of the year's best new restaurants. He notes that 2013 was Dominique Ansel's year, but his number one restaurant pick is Carbone: "Chef Mario Carbone has taken the cheap red-sauce fare we grew up eating on Long Island and imbued it with the same quality (and price) as dinner at New York's best French or Japanese spots. It's a good lesson: If we want Italian-American and ethnic cuisines to move forward, we'll have to pay more for what we eat." [Bloomberg]
[Daniel Krieger]
Stan Sagner gives one star to Bromberg Brothers Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken, and he awards two stars to Hill Country Fried Chicken. On the former: "[W]hen the word "fried chicken" is in the restaurant's name, the titular bird should be better. Instead, Blue Ribbon chicken pieces don a gritty jacket of tight skin tinged an unsettling hue of orange — as if the bird has doused itself with off-brand self-tanner and then rolled around in sand before hitting the table. The meat is undeniably juicy, but the only discernible 'spice' is uncut, pharmaceutical-grade sodium." [NYDN]
[The Nugget Spot by Robert Sietsema]
The Robs are not wowed by new single menu-item restaurants Empire Biscuit, The Nugget Spot, and Potatopia. On the nugget restaurant: "After much experimentation and soul-searching, the U.G. came to the conclusion that we preferred, in descending order, the crunchy, heavily battered southern-fried chicken nuggets, a schnitzel-crusted pork, and a pretzeled turkey best. One nugget was more or less indistinguishable from the next, but they were all freshly fried and fairly juicy, and did in fact appear to be real meat as opposed to the mystery kind." [GS/NYM]
Krieger]
THE ELSEWHERE: Gael Greene encounters some serious hits and a few misses at Kingside in Midtown, Shauna Lyon loves the food and the experience at Sushi Nakazawa, Restaurant Girl digs almost everything she tastes at Rotisserie Georgette, and Ligaya Mishan finds some amazing dishes along with some missteps at the Musket Room in Nolita.
[Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop by Krieger]
THE BLOGS: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt loves the ramen and rice bowls at Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop, Zachary Feldman is impressed by Contra, Immaculate Infatuation's Chris Stang gives a 6.1 rating to Buvette, the Pink Pig digs the burger at Fritzl's Lunch Box, NYC Foodie has some great dishes at Ellary's Greens, Joe DiStefano bravely samples the falafel slice at Benjy's pizzeria in Flushing, Goodies First enjoys many of the dishes at Alder, the Food Doc is wowed by Danny Bowien's interpretation of Mexican food at Mission Cantina, and NY Journal also likes the food at Mission Cantina, but he has some misgivings about the style of service.
· All Coverage of Reviews [~ENY~]
