Reviews for Bouley, Houseman, Wildair, and More

— As mentioned yesterday, Bouley holds onto it's three-star Frank Bruni rating after this week's Pete Well's review. The Times Critic is seriously into the originality that plays into both the dishes and decor at David Bouley's flagship: "Yes, the wild mushrooms in the 'forager’s treasure' were so richly flavored they fooled me into thinking they were cooked in butter. With melting lobes of grilled tuna belly, a truffle sauce and a light coconut garlic broth, the dish sent me to some other world in a whoosh." Three stars.

[Bouley] Photo by Daniel Krieger

— The cheese offerings at Houseman leave Tejal Rao weak in the knees, and the burger isn't far behind: "The burger is something, too. It involves two thin, crisp-edged patties with a faint line of pink running through each center, fused together with melted swiss cheese and a sweet, delicious black mass of deeply caramelized onion and mushroom. This is all contained in a Martin’s potato roll, the ideal vehicle for a burger because while it’s pleasingly squishy, it knows how to hold itself together under the duress of dripping cheese and beef juice" Two stars.

— There are some missteps, but overall Zachary Feldman is a fan of Glasserie in Greenpoint: "An overwhelming number of dishes, like deep-fried chicken kibbe set against slivers of blood orange and a lamb soup dotted with sunchokes and fortified with basmati rice, are unquestionably worth the trek. So are Glasserie's cocktails, which employ spices (saffron), herbs (sage), and Middle Eastern spirits (arak) with nuance."

Bess Adler

[Glasserie] Photo by Bess Adler

— Ligaya Mishan really digs the simplicity at Leche y Miel in the Bronx: "At Leche y Miel Restaurant, in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, mofonguitos are gloriously undainty hors d’oeuvres, the plantain base dense but starkly crunchy, the shrimp still preening with heat. They arrive staggered on an angular white plate whose austerity belies the food’s frank pleasures."

— At Wildair, Gael Greene likes most of what she tries: "So many explosions of flavor and textural surprises are exhilarating. The beef tartare looking like beef tartare gives me time to catch my breath. It proves to be another wine bar familiar in what only looks like unassuming dress. Pimentón, pickled shallots and flurries of grated raw chestnuts, grated raw horseradish and grated smoked cheddar add a tangle of excitement to the moist bits of meat." The critic adds that she looks forward to revisiting once the season changes.

[Wildair] Photo by Krieger

— The pulled-pork-pimento macaroni and cheese is a flop, but Shauna Lyon of Tables for Two still enjoys Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village: "It turns out that there is no such thing as too much cheese. While ordering at the Cheese Bar might require some serious self-restraint, it’s possible to keep it simple. A fine meal can be made of fondue (the classic Gruyère with kirsch, accompanied by bread, gherkins, pickled cipollini, and garlicky pepperoni) and sliders (juicy grass-fed patties on slightly sweet brioche buns)."

The Blogs: Joe DiStefano files his assessment on Tangra Masala, the Pink Pig reviews the prime rib panino at Eataly, and The Infatuation gives O Ya a 7.6 rating.