Wells Awards Two Stars to Southern Newcomer Maysville

The Times review is up a few hours early. This week, Pete Wells files on Maysville, the new American restaurant in the Flatiron District from Char No. 4 proprietor Sean Josephs. Wells is excited by chef Kyle Knall's nuanced version of Southern food:

I've had more hay set in front of me in the past year than a thoroughbred training for the Kentucky Derby, but never was it used to as good effect as it is at Maysville, where its smoke infuses warm oysters. They cook on burning hay until they are on the cusp between raw and cooked, and then are carried to the table on a blanket of hay that is still smoldering.

The common theme here is smoke, which curls throughout the menu. It adds unexpected depth to the mashed potatoes with an excellent sliced rib-eye cap. It's there in the papery sheets of country ham on top of crisp cubes of fried grits. It lends enough flavor to a whole smoked trout that Mr. Knall gets away with his decision to serve the fish with no sauce, just grilled onions, pickled mushrooms and tufts of watercress.

Wells notes that the space is laid out like Gramercy tavern, with a boisterous barroom in the front and a quieter space in the back. Although a few of the dishes fail to impress him, the critic gives the restaurant two stars.
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Maysville

17 West 26th Street, Manhattan, NY 10010 (646) 490-8240 Visit Website

Maysville

17 W 26th St., New York, NY