Reviews for Telepan Local, Empire Diner, Gato, and More

Yesterday, Ryan Sutton gave two stars to the new dim sum-style service at Má Pêche in Midtown. Adam Platt and Josh Stein are taking a week off, and Steve Cuozzo's review will drop on Friday. Time Out New York has not printed a restaurant review since Daniel S. Meyer stepped down a few weeks ago, and the mag has not announced a new critic. But plenty of other critics and bloggers are still at it:

Pete Wells finds problems with the small plates at Telepan Local: "With its shrimp poppers — peculiarly bland fried shrimp stuffed with peculiarly bland crab and fish mousse — Telepan Local seemed to be trying to imitate Red Lobster and not quite succeeding. Fried watercress with cashews and chile sauce was an obvious homage to a Thai dish, yet it lacked the rippling energy of lime juice and fish sauce that any number of restaurants in Queens would have given it. Telepan Local's pigs in blankets, however, perfectly mimicked everybody else's pigs in blankets." Still, Wells likes enough of the dishes to give the restaurant one star. [NYT]

Zachary Feldman digs most of the dishes he tries at Amanda Freitag's Empire Diner: "A succulent bone-in pork chop comes topped with crisped pancetta, and even roasted chicken perfumed with lemon feels particularly substantial, but it's her trout almondine that elicited the most compliments from my table. Moist and soaked in brown butter, the two boneless fillets were pristine, enlivened by earthy-sweet parsnip purée and thin slips of shaved parsnip." [FitR]

[Gato by Krieger]
Stan Sagner is pleasantly surprised by Bobby Flay's Gato in Noho: "Flay's love of the humble egg is abundantly evident throughout the menu and it crowns Gato's surprising star entree: kale and mushroom paella ($27). This sleeper of a dish deftly assembles some of the meatiest, earthiest members of the plant kingdom: shiitake, artichoke and, yes, ubiquitous kale, into a toothy, deeply satisfying concoction. The glorious yellow gravy that spills from the soft egg on top brings it all together." The critic gives the restaurant four stars out of five. [NYDN]

[Bar Bolonat by Krieger]
THE ELSEWHERE: Gael Greene enjoys the food at Bar Bolonat but wishes the portions were bigger, Ligaya Mishan likes the hand-pulled noodles at Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen in Hell's Kitchen, and Amelia Lester is disappointed by the "middle-of-the-road newish American cuisine" at The Writing Room.

[The Runner by Krieger]
THE BLOGS: Immaculate Infatuation's Andrew Steinthal gives an 8.0 rating to The Runner in Fort Greene, Serious Eats editor Craig Cavallo thinks that La Petite Crevette is a solid neighborhood joint, NYC Foodie likes his quick bite at The Wayfarer, Sarah Zorn tries the Ethiopian food at Bunna Cafe, Goodies First has pleasant meals at both Antonioni's and Chez Jef, Joe DiStefano digs the Filipino chicken soup at Manny's Bake Shop in Flushing, and NY Journal gives two of his new stars to Rotisserie Georgette on the Upper East Side.
· All Coverage of Reviews [~ENY~]

[Top photo: Telepan Local by Krieger]