Pete Wells Drops a Goose Egg on Kappo Masa, Other Critics Praise Semilla, Bowery Meat Co.

Yesterday, Robert Sietsema gave three stars to Kokum, a South Indian restaurant in Curry Hill. Now here's a roundup of what the rest of the critics reviewed this week:

Pete Wells slams Kappo Masa for its high prices and mediocre food: "Mr. Takayama charges similar prices across town at Bar Masa. But the food and service allow Bar Masa to pass for an à la carte version of Masa itself. Kappo Masa is nowhere near as good. The raw ingredients may well be the same, but they are often handled carelessly, seasoned indifferently and served inattentively." Zero stars. [NYT]

Joshua David Stein loves Bowery Meat Company for being so much more than your traditional steakhouse: "The Bowery Meat Company is not a steakhouse, though it has the single best steak in New York City in the Bowery steak ($54), an all ribcap beaut I deemed the best new dish of 2014. It is not a steakhouse, though potatoes...are presented in every tantalizing aspect: whipped into a frenzy, gratifyingly gratinéed or cut to batons, tossed to the fryers and left to crenellate." Four stars. [NYO]

Zachary Feldman is impressed by Semilla, the tasting menu restaurant from Jose Ramirez-Ruiz and Pamela Yung: "Yung's desserts ease you down from Ramírez-Ruiz's bold flavors, as when the tingle from a spicy plate of roasted squash sitting in serrano pepper sauce with blueberries, fried chickpeas, and raw kohlrabi dissipates right around the time a dish of white grapefruit segments nestled into a puff of aerated yogurt and bolstered by pine nuts and tarragon hits the table." [VV]

Tejal Rao likes the simple plates at Jody Williams and Rita Sodi's Via Carota: "One of my favorites was cold, lean, and sharp: chilled leeks and pickled shallots under a snow of bottarga. But I want to write a love letter to Via Carota's cauliflower and cheese gratin, a version I believe all cauliflower-and-cheeses should be measured against from now on. It is piping hot, rich and densely creamy, but without obscuring the intensely sweet cabbage-y flavor of the vegetable." Two stars. [Bloomberg]

THE ELSEWHERE: Jeff Gordinier reviews Soy, a humble Japanese restaurant on the Lower East Side. Hannah Goldfield loves the diminutive Greenpoint Fish & Lobster. Gael Greene likes the broad Italian menu at Shelley Fireman's Florian.

THE BLOGS: Chris Stang finds East Village staple Frank somewhat tired, while Andrew Steinthal deems The Redhead as good as ever, the Pink Pig finds a diverse new menu at Upper East Side pub Dresner's, Restaurant Girl loves Andrew Carmellini's newcomer, Little Park, and Chopsticks + Marrow finds comfort in Mokbar's kimchi ramen.