Pete Wells Falls for Marta, While Kappo Masa and Cosme Fail to Impress Other Critics

Yesterday Robert Sietsema gave two stars to Gakyizompe, a new Himalayan restaurant in Sunnyside. Now here's a roundup of the rest of the week's reviews:

Pete Wells visits Danny Meyer's latest hit, Marta, and jumps right on the bandwagon: "[Nick Anderer] has a great pizza-fied version of carbonara, with dots of egg and grated pecorino over crumbled, starchy potatoes and baconlike curls of guanciale. For a while, he was doing an enjoyable two-dimensional trippa alla Romana, too, spreading the rich, chile-boosted tomato sauce around the pie and arranging tender, not too chewy bands of tripe on top." Two stars. [NYT]

Tejal Rao reviews the sceney, pricey, Kappo Maso: "Kappo Masa serves much of the same seafood as Masa and Bar Masa -- mackerel from Aichi, fluke from Kyushu, clams from Massachusetts, sea urchin from California -- but delivers it casually and a la carte. If you care only about the quality of the fish, this might make the pricey dinner at Kappo Masa seem like a deal. But if you care about other things, like the polished service and attention to detail that should also be expected at this price level, you may be disappointed." Two stars. [Bloomberg]

Michael Kaminer has mixed feelings about Cosme: "I wish I could wholeheartedly recommend Olvera's sleek, sexy restaurant. But it's hard to reconcile the numbers on the menu with the Scrooge-like morsels on the plate. Cosme should feel like an indulgence; at the moment, it's just an extravagance." Three stars. [NYDN]

Zachary Feldman is won over by Casa del Chef in Queens: "The $35 five-course menu reveals itself as an endlessly charming and affordable way to eat in modern, seasonal fashion. Scallops settle into a marsh of spinach risotto. Their briny sweetness works wonders against the creamy grains...Main courses arrive in hearty portions, including roast chicken with pan juices, farro, and winter squash." [VV]

THE ELSEWHERE: Amelia Lester visits the Koreatown outpost of the bizarrely-named Turntable Retro Bar & Restaurant Mad for Chicken. Ligaya Mishan approves of the Ligurian fare at Fitzcarraldo in East Williamsburg. Gael Greene chronicles the progress at Upland (though she likes it from the start).

THE BLOGS: Andrew Steinthal is impressed by Alex Stupak's tacos at Empellon Al Pastor, The Pink Pig gorges happily at M. Wells Steakhouse, Chopsticks and Marrow dines on Thai street food at Plant Love House, Goodies First eats the offal-filled pancita soup at El Toro Bravo, NYC Foodie visits Bowery Meat Company, NY Journal is luke warm on Calle Dao, and Chekmark Eats has a decent meal at Baker & Co.