Pete Wells Hurls a Goose Egg at Salvation Taco

Pete Wells reviews two taquerias this week: Taqueria Tlaxcalli in the Parkchester neighborhood of The Bronx, and Salvation Taco in Murray Hill. On his visits to the former, he found "tacos that filled out their warm corn tortillas the way a fat man fills out a hammock." But at Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield's restaurant, he did not find any hammock-like tacos:

The tortillas were a little bigger than an English muffin. A small taco can be a great taco, but these were topped so minimally and sauced so timidly that masa was virtually all I could taste. A swipe of curried crema was not enough to bring four tiny and stubbornly bland cauliflower florets to life. A relish of charred onions and pomegranate molasses might have lifted two little fried sweetbreads out of dullness if there had been more than a small blotch of it.

Wells awards one star to Taqueria Tlaxcalli, and he gives Salvation Taco a zero star "satisfactory" rating. [NYT]

[Cherry by Daniel Krieger]
Steve Cuozzo likes chef Andy Choi's Japanese-American fare at Cherry: "Tamagoyaki, a cold 'omelet' served in rounds, weds smoked trout to salmon roe, radish and yuzu beurre noisette — a surprisingly salt-restrained luxury. Sparks from shiso, szu and chili lime tosazu were restrained to let paper-thin, black sea bass carpaccio taste like fish. Crisscrossed lavosh breadsticks lend crackle. Choi has a way with textural contrast. Clichéd-sounding miso-glazed Chilean sea bass arrived deftly marinated and moist throughout, mounted on a crispy ricecake worthy of the name." Two stars. [NYP]

[The Butcher's Daughter by Daniel Krieger]

Michael Kaminer is impressed by Joya Carlton's vegan creations at The Butcher's Daughter: "With a shout-from-the-rooftops dish like pesto linguine ($14), the rough-hewn character of Carlton's technique also shines. Mass-produced pesto, so common at Gotham eateries, can't touch the textured, tingly blend Carlton slathers on ribbons of zucchini 'pasta' and tops with nearly pop-art cherry tomatoes. If you're lucky, silky sweet-potato soup with lemongrass (8$) will grace the menu the day of your visit. Think of its electric-orange hue as truth in advertising about the soup's spiky-soft sensations." Four stars out of five. [NYDN]

For one of his last reviews for the Voice, Robert Sietsema files on Saiguette, an Upper West Side Vietnamese restaurant: "At the bottom of the restaurant's slender pho list, pho nam vang ($8), a soup often associated with Saigon and sometimes called hu tieu. It might have become as famous as regular pho, except there's no standard recipe. At Saiguette—where the menu claims the soup is made from an old family recipe—the broth is silky and porky, with ribbons of egg noodle, fish balls, fish cake, shrimp, and squid added in. Instead of basil, the predominant seasoning is cilantro and scallions, with hoisin for extra oomph. It's delectable, and quite unlike pho." [VV]

[Hajan by Daniel Krieger]

THE ELSEWHERE: Andrea K. Scott of Tables for Two likes the Korean pub food at Hanjan, Gael Greene digs the sushi and shareable plates at Cherry, Restaurant Girl gives a big thumbs up to Antica Pesa in Williamsburg, and Ligaya Mishan samples the goods at SakaMai on Ludlow Street.

[Little Prince by Daniel Krieger]

THE BLOGS: Serious Eats editor J. Kenji López-Alt falls hard for Tanoshi Sushi, the Immaculate Infatuation boys give a 6.5 rating to Little Prince in Soho, The Food Doc checks in with Momofuku Ko, Eat Big Apple recommends Le Philosophe in Noho, Goodies First visits Fatty 'Cue Williamsburg, NYC Foodie stops by Costata during friends and family, and NY Journal is slightly disappointed by Nougatine at Jean Georges.
· All Coverage of Reviews [~ENY~]