Reviews for Rebelle, Lupulo, The Four Horsemen, and More

Earlier this week, Sietsema awarded two stars to Stolovaya on Avenue U, and Sutton explained everything you need to avoid at the One World Trade restaurants.  Here's a roundup of this week's other big reviews:

Tejal Rao thinks Bowery hot spot Rebelle is one of New York's best new restaurants: "The sweetbreads, served in big pieces under a glaze of lobster sauce, get across their luxurious texture but don't carry any extra weight. You’ll find leeks vinaigrette: cold sliced leeks with a round, bright mustard sauce and broken-up soft boiled eggs. It’s a bistro standard—but so good here, you'll feel like you're meeting it for the first time. " Three stars out of four.

Zachary Feldman is a big fan of the Japanese breakfast, noodles, and prix fixe dinners at Yuji Ramen/Okonomi in Williamsburg: "Big-eye tuna might receive a coating of salty miso, as was the case one Sunday morning, the marinade caramelized under the broiler. Other varieties, like tilefish, come simply salt-grilled. As in the best sushi restaurants, the kitchen ages certain fish for a day or two to allow flavors to bloom and enzymes to break down."

[Lupulo photo by Nick Solares.]

Steve Cuozzo digs the food and the vibe at George Mendes's Midtown firecracker Lupulo: "Mendes could have played it safe with scaled-down versions of the stylized, urbanized Portuguese dishes he serves at Aldea. Instead, a more rough-hewn spirit prevails. Meat can be gamy and chewy; complex seasonings are not for convalescents; and there’s a whole lotta pickling goin’ on." Two and a half stars out of four.

Michael Kaminer heads to Staten Island to try Enoteca Maria, where the food is cooked by a team of Italian grandmas: "A heaping plate of homemade focaccia comes with little bowls of roasted cabbage, white bean/sun-dried tomato puree and roasted peppers. They’re irresistible. But leave some bread over to sponge up lush, eggplant-heavy giambotta ($10), the Italian-accented ratatouille. The combo’s better than chocolate and peanut butter." Three stars out of five.

Adam Platt lists the pros and cons of six new tasting menus he admires, including the ones from Momofuku Ko, Semilla, and Empellon Cocina. Here's his takeaway on Wylie's newest creations at Alder: "Some of his experiments work better than others, but if you’re a devotee of the master’s particular brand of madcap cooking, the $65 sticker price is hard to beat."

Although the food is not spectacular, Gael Greene still gets choked up at the end of her meal at The Four Seasons: "Now it was late and the truth is I was…indeed I am seized with sadness. I cannot imagine there will ever be another Four Seasons. Niccolini and Von Bidder, with their partners, the Bronfman family, own the name. But the name alone, even if a corps of today’s power lunchers follow, will never be a stand-in for the Four Seasons we’ve known."

Amelia Lester of Tables for Two spots James Murphy at his wine bar, The Four Horsemen, along with a pair of music nerds gawking at him.   She likes the food, wine, and vibe: "As Murphy has noted, New York can bring you down. It might do so pretty soon, as you stand on the J-train platform. But tonight, it bought itself some time." Lester recommends the steak tartare, the pork shank, and the snap peas.

[O Ya photo by Nick Solares.]

The Blogs: Danyelle Freeman offers a detailed recap of a great meal at O Ya, Sara Ventiera samples Simpson Wong's Singaporean comfort food at Chomp Chomp, Andrew Steinthal gives a 6.6 rating to LES oyster bar Sel Rrose, The Food Doc loves almost every dish on the new menu at Momofuku Ko, The Pink Pig is pleasantly surprised by the food and the overall experience at Virginia's on Avenue C, Goodies First is a fan of the kua kling nuea sub at Kitchen 79 in Jackson Heights, and Joe DiStefano gives a thumbs up to the ice rice at New World Mall Food Court in Flushing.