Reviews for wd~50, Mighty Quinn's, Aska, and More

Ryan Sutton checks in on Wylie Dufresne's wd~50. Many of the dishes on the "from the vault" menu fail to impress, and there are some duds on the new menu, too: "Bone marrow is rendered into a gel that's piped into a potato hollowed-out to look like a bone. It's awesome, until you eat it. Marrow should be hot, oozy, jiggly. Here it's flavorless and tepid. That marrow is part of the $155 tasting, which begins with sliced Japanese sea perch, called madai, served over a mound of salsify-imitating rice. It falls apart when you pick it up, and the grains aren't warm, so there's no contrast to the dish. It's subpar sushi." There are still some flashes of brilliance, though. Sutton gives the restaurant two stars. [Bloomberg]

As noted yesterday, Pete Wells files on three barbecue joints for this week's review: BrisketTown, Fletcher's, and Mighty Quinn's. All of them have strong points, but Wells thinks that Mighty Quinn's is the best, overall: "The pulled pork is the only one in town that doesn't make you embarrassed for New York. It is staggeringly good. The inside meat is slick with the flavor of old-school pork butt; the black, chewy outer rind looks as if it fell into the fire. Don't be fooled, though; the flavor of smoke and sweet fat is most concentrated there." Wells gives Mighty Quinn's two stars. [NYT]

Jay Cheshes digs the food at Salvation Taco: "Tiny tortillas—made fresh to order from Nixtamal masa, in view of the bar —are stuffed with primo ingredients from all over the place. Tender strips of medium-rare skirt steak come swaddled in a Texas-style smoky pecan-and-chipotle salsa. Crispy sweetbreads have Italian and Middle Eastern notes, from fried chickpeas and sweet pomegranate relish. And there's a great Southeast Asian kick to the red-curry cream spooned onto golden roasted cauliflower." Chesh-Dog gives Salvation Taco three stars (out of five). [TONY]

Michael Kaminer gives three stars (out of five) to the restaurant in the Tommy Bahama store in Midtown: "Swordfish ($28), ordered medium-well, arrives firm and juicy, with sweet grilled miniature carrots as a thoughtful complement. The fish sits on a bed of warm farro salad that's more like succotash, with lima beans and mushrooms. It's heavy and rich, but perfect for a brisk March night." [NYDN]

Tejal Rao thinks that there's room for improvement at Aska, but she likes a lot of the dishes: "The menu changes often, but in the winter they might bring you tiny wild oysters from Rhode Island in a bright green broth of cucumber and dill. Or a lovely herring cobbled over with potatoes and juniper froth, paired with a glass of rye-infused aquavit. Two weeks ago, there was a squelch of root vegetables and pickled lichen in a murky chicken broth, and a bright egg yolk shone through it like the sun behind clouds." [VV]

THE ELSEWHERE: Robert Sietsema goes on a jerk chicken odyssey in Brooklyn, Leo Carey of Tables for Two loves almost everything at Aska, Gael Greene has a pleasant meal at L & W Oyster Bar, and Ligaya Mishan samples some interesting Eastern European fare at Bear.

THE BLOGS: Serious Eats recommends Salvation Taco, the Immaculate Infatuation dudes give a 7.8 rating to Dassara in Carroll Gardens, The Pink Pig enjoys his meal at Pearl & Ash but thinks that there is room for improvement, Goodies First files on four Williamsburg restaurants, Restaurant Girl offers her list of top comfort foods, The Food Doc is a big fan of Chez Sardine, NYC Foodie has a satisfying solo meal at Le Philosophe in Noho, Chekmark Eats drops a list of top burgers in NYC, and NY Journal has a disappointing meal at The Cleveland.
· All Coverage of Reviews [~ENY~]
[wd~50 photo by Daniel Krieger]