Reviews for Untitled, Rebelle, The Clocktower, and More

Ryan Sutton explains why Danny Meyer is the king of museum restaurants in his two star review of Untitled, while Robert Sietsema says Cantonese food is making a comeback in his three star review of King's Kitchen. Here's a roundup of this week's other big reviews:

Pete Wells has mixed feelings about Rebelle, the new wine-focused French restaurant on the Bowery: "[H]ere are leeks in vinaigrette, but not the comfortable old mush you've cozied up to before. Snipped into bite-size cylinders, these leeks are younger, firmer, their onion character not completely subdued. What the black filaments of leek ash are doing on the plate I can't say...." Two stars.

Like, Sutton, Tejal Rao is impressed with Michael Anthony's cooking at Untitled: "The kitchen has a clear focus on excellent vegetables and local seafood: fat, perfectly cooked mussels bobbing around with fava beans in a salty green broth, fried oysters on a sweet, summery corn-and-bean relish with a generous dollop of mayonnaise, all so tasty you'll need to clean the bowl out with a piece of warm bread...This cooking pleases— but delicately, in unexpected ways." One star.

Meanwhile, Michael Kaminer finds himself content, but a bit bored at Untitled: "One thing missing: the fireworks...the plates feel like — sorry — museum pieces...Believe it or not, the fluke with radish and sorrel ($15) tastes beige. The only drama comes from purple-veined sorrel and bright-orange roe, not from mild fish or inert radish. To quote Simply Red, it's so beautiful, but so boring." Three out of five stars.

Zachary Feldman is a fan of John Poiarkoff's cooking at The Pines's new project, Willow. He's particulary taken with the pierogies: "[U]nlikely choice to receive a modern New American update. But [here] it's no culinary punchline. When the restaurant opened in April, Poiarkoff's handmade potato pierogi were anointed with dollops of sour cream under a bed of oxtail-laden kimchi. For summer, the dumplings welcome a lasso-shaped garlic scape and sour-cream-simmered morel mushrooms."

Nick Solares

Steve Cuozzo is convinced that Stephen Starr and Brit chef Jason Atherton's project The Clocktower is the best new large restaurant in town: "Earth-moving main courses (most $31 to $39) include succulent pork bathed in charcuterie sauce. Buttery-textured rabbit loin stuffed with foie gras thrilled me to the last molecule. So did ‘macaroni and cheese,' a lascivious, $23 wallow of rigatoni, cheddar, ox-cheek brisket and morel 'shrooms." Three stars.

Shauna Lyons at Tables for Two finds a table amid the girls night out posses at Vicki Freeman and Marc Meyer's East Village Mexican project Rosie's: "[T]ravelling once in Michoacán, [Meyer] asked for hot sauce, and this is what he got: a dark-brown salsa made from peanuts, pumpkin seeds, and chili oil. It's a strange concoction, an accompaniment to baked cheese crisps in a snack called ‘chicharrón de queso,' and it turns out to be the most surprising, and most wonderful, dish of the evening... [but] the offerings from the comal are hit or miss."

Gael Greene has a crush (surprise, surprise) on Laurent Tourondel and his food at the Eventi Hotel's spot The Vine: "The little dish of garlic knots might seem redundant, as I order a second pizza -- white mushrooms with truffle paste on fontina and taleggio. I'm trying to please everyone -- dieting pals, but first of all, myself. I've had garlic knots before, but nothing quite so tasty, scarcely needing a boost from the adjacent tomato sauce with a dusting of freshly grated pecorino."

The Elsewhere: The Daily New's new critic Paul Schultz finds homey food and momos that "approach rustic perfection" at Punda Tibetan, giving it three stars. Ligaya Mishan says the noodle game at Harlem's new Handpulled Noodle is on point. Just make sure you eat those noodles fast!

Robert Sietsema

The Blogs: Andrew Steinthal is still in love with the original Nobu, giving it an 8.2. He's also a fan of the fancy and pricey egg sandwiches at BEC, the restaurant that launched a serious ode to bodega BECs from Pete Wells. Steinthal gives it a 7.6. The Food Doc says Alex Stupak's new tasting menu at Empellon Cocina doesn't disappoint. The Pink Pig isn't enthralled by Cherche Midi's $25 burger.