Reviews of Tavern on the Green, Glady's, Bâtard, More

Yesterday Ryan Sutton awarded two stars to Ivan Orkin's Ivan Ramen, and Robert Sietsema filed on two new tapas places, Donostia and Huertas, giving both three stars. Here's a round up of the rest of the week's big reviews:

Pete Wells is sorely disappointed by much of the food at the new Tavern on the Green: "Maybe the food, which isn't especially ornate, still needs to come down a notch or two. The pork chop could lose the stringy, sour, half-raw roasted rhubarb. The brisket in a sweetish barbecue sauce, which you'd be happy enough to find at your local brew pub, could do without the comatose potato salad. And the menu would be easier to handle if Ms. Sparks didn't organize it by heat source. ('I don't really care what I eat, as long as it was cooked on a plancha!')" Satisfactory (zero stars). [NYT]

Voice critic Zachary Feldman checks out the revamped Glady's in Crown Heights, which he describes as the "Caribbean Pok Pok": "Hunks of pork sport an almost barbecue-like smoke ring. It vies with the chicken for moistest meat, and both cost under $10. Seasoning is off the charts, as allspice and scotch bonnet peppers have a West Side Story–style rumble on your tongue from both a dry rub and a bracing vinegar-based hot sauce heavy on cloves and more allspice. Silky goat curry turned our eating groans gruff, the supple, grassy meat wrested easily from its bones bobbing next to potatoes in a rich sepia-toned stew. Seasoned with garlic and rosemary, whole fish fried in coconut oil hits the table crisp and greaseless. Pepper shrimp — six head-on beauties for $12 — are draped with charred scallions, a spicy, unctuous answer to New Orleans's barbecue variety." [VV]

Joshua David Stein is impressed with Markus Glocker's cooking at Bâtard: "Much of Glocker's best work is tinged with illegitimacy. That rabbit 'bouillabaisse,' inspired by a recipe by Witzigmann, plunges Thumper into a fish stew. Tender bits of rabbit tenderloin—including a tragic frenched medallion—arrive with a saffron raviolo like a punchy yellow purse and bits of turnips and carrots, presumably to feed the rabbit on his trip to the great beyond. Because the rabbit is so mild, the saffron so intriguing and Glocker's skill so persuasive, the dish feels both thrillingly new and inevitable. A little later, and grander, that unimpeachable technique is reprised in a Lamb for Two, one of the most delicious of Bâtard's offerings. However, the restaurant's highest achievement—the assumption of chicken schnitzel into some Godhead material—isn't even listed on the menu." Four stars. [NYO]

[Navy by Krieger]

Stan Sagner finds inventive and mostly excellent seafood dishes at Camille Becerra's Navy: "The well-balanced hits keep coming: Decadent, duck fat-poached chunks of mahi-mahi ($25) are expertly lightened with clean, grassy seaweed and crunchy seabeans. Earthy, satisfying crisp gnocchi ($21) frolic with sautéed wild mushroom, fingerlings and wilted ramps. The showstopper is Becerra's flaky, fragrant Trout Encroute ($28) with a lemony sorrel sauce. The fish nestles under a diamond-scored quilt of pastry so perfect, it looks as if it was made by one of Martha Stewart's food stylists. You feel guilty shattering its photogenic crust — but take a bite and you'll feel much better." Three stars. [NYDN]

Steve Cuozzo loves his experience at Clement, the new-ish restaurant at the Peninsula Hotel: "Prettily composed main dishes stop short of being fussy. I found nary a sauce or a seasoning out of register with a main element. Yuzu over-citricizes dishes all over town. But here, a judicious hint of it set a trio of buttery sea scallops dancing on the palate. Waiters give many dishes the lush-pour treatment. Duck broth over pan-roasted black sea bass lent the fish unaccustomed depth without nullifying its flavor. White bean purée brought a magic touch to crackling-topped porcelet and octopus. Grits with a risotto-like texture sensuously partnered butter-poached Maine lobster." Three stars. [NYP]

[Russ & Daughters Cafe by Krieger]

THE ELSEWHERE: In Tables for Two, Hannah Goldfield loves both Black Seed and the Russ & Daughters Cafe. Gael Greene is charmed by the tiny, tasting-menu-only Take Root. And Ligaya Mishan is a fan of Baoburg.

[Bar Primi by Bess Adler]

THE BLOGS: The Infatuation's Andrew Steinthal loves the vibe at Blue Ribbon Sushi and the pasta at Max in Williamsburg, the Pink Pig finds a hidden Midtown gem at Da Marcella, Chopstick and Marrow tries a couple of strange but good seafood dishes at Crescent Grill, NYC Foodie checks out Black Ant, New York Journal files on Mathieu Palombino's pop-up, Chez Jef, The Food Doc reports on Bar Primi, and Chekmark Eats is a fan of Cafe El Presidente.