Reviews for Charlie Bird, Red Farm, Contra, and More

As noted earlier, Pete Wells awards one star to Robert Bohr's Soho hot spot Charlie Bird. On the wine service: "Mr. Bohr, who built the epic wine list at Cru, keeps a much shorter one at Charlie Bird. Working with one of his sommeliers, Grant Reynolds, he has assembled it with such care that I fell hard for everything I tasted. Ordinarily I'd be put off by seeing more bottles over $100 than under in such a casual place, but the markups are kind and, if your curiosity outstrips your budget, you can buy a half bottle of anything except sparkling wines for half the price." [NYT]

Ryan Sutton slams Tao Downtown in the Maritime Hotel: "[W]hile much of New York itches to learn more about the myriad regional cuisines of the Global East, filling fine spots like Pok Pok, Cafe China and Xi'an Famous Foods, Tao provides the opposite, trafficking in the pedestrian Pan-Asian luxuries of business district hotels of Shanghai, Mumbai, or Dubai. Tao is the type of restaurant designed for those who refuse to eat from street vendors when traveling abroad, and for those who suddenly become vegetarian in foreign countries." [Bloomberg]

Stan Sagner visits Contra, the new Lower East Side prix fixe-only restaurant from Jeremiah Stone and Fabian van Hauske: "The thrill of a virtually new menu each night has a real-world tradeoff: The kitchen can rarely master a dish before moving on to its next creation. It's exciting to see what two cutting-edge veterans can dream up, but the risk of a clunker is omnipresent. The good news is that Contra delivers far more hits than misses." [NYDN]

[Red Farm by Bess Adler]
Steve Cuozzo is wowed by the new Upper West Side location of Red Farm: "Twice as big as the ­always-mobbed Hudson Street original, the new place is not only better, but a lot better. The spirit's infectious. Although the cuisines couldn't be more different, RedFarm enjoys the cheery, 'you've gotta try this' plate-sharing generosity among strangers of downtown's legendarily convivial Il Buco Alimentari." Three stars. [NYP]

[Juni by Krieger]
Adam Platt gives three stars to Marco's in Prospect Heights: "The fat Maine oysters are grilled over wood embers and dressed with a simple tomato confit, the way you think maybe you tasted them once, a long time ago, in a precariously situated village along the Amalfi Coast. The best of the pastas have a similarly unadorned, primary quality to them, in particular the agnolotti (filled with Fontina) and the eggy tagliatelle, which is tossed with nothing but butter, Parmesan, and chewy shreds of Gran Riserva prosciutto di Parma." [GS/NYM]

[Juni by Krieger]
Daniel S. Meyer gives three stars out of five to Shaun Hergatt's Juni:
"[C]ooking at this level is expected to push boundaries, and Hergatt's retrofitted cuisine often reads one step behind, sometimes still betraying the impulses of fads past, as with an over-the-top eagerness for truffles. On one night alone, they were found in three dishes, including a tile of black bass baked until as dense and juicy as a steak, but drowning in a strong sea of truffle sabayon. Still, Hergatt's knack for distilling and amplifying flavors can't be denied." [TONY]

[The Lambs Club by Krieger]
THE ELSEWHERE: Gael Greene has a terrific meal at Gastronomia Culinaria on the Upper West Side, Hannah Goldfield of Tables for Two digs the food and the service at The Lambs Club, Ligaya Mishan finds a lot to like at Martha on Dekalb Avenue, and Alan Richman likes the original Mile End Delicatessen more than its Manhattan spinoff.

[Otto's Tacos by Robert Sietsema]
THE BLOGS: Jamie Feldmar finds great Eastern European fare at Chayhana Salom in Sheepshead Bay, Immaculate Infatuation's Andrew Steinthal gives an 8.0 rating to Otto's Tacos, the Food Doc files a detailed recap of a recent meal at M. Wells Steakhouse, the Pink Pig tries the TM burger at The Marrow, Chekmark Eats digs the food and vibe at Great Jones Cafe, NYC Foodie loves Gotham West Market, Eat Big Apple has a solid pie at Lombardi's, Zachary Feldman samples the meaty dishes at Joe & Misses Doe, Joe DiStefano recommends the noodle soups at the Mu Ramen pop-up in Long Island City, and NY Journal thinks that The East Pole is better than The Fat Radish.
· All Coverage of Reviews [~ENY~]
[Charlie Bird Photo: Bess Adler]