Jean-Georges’ Public Kitchen Fails to Excite Pete Wells

It’s one star for prolific NYC chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s latest restaurant Public Kitchen, which Times critic Pete Wells found confusing.

Wells writes in Tuesday’s review that the Lower East Side restaurant “doesn’t explore the city’s food in a coherent or illuminating way.” The menu’s declared theme of New York City-inspired food doesn’t quite hit the mark for him:

But, unusually for one of Mr. Vongerichten’s recent restaurants, a number of dishes don’t achieve liftoff. At my first meal I was nonplused by the shrimp cocktail: The shrimp were warm but served on ice, and the cocktail sauce was a bizarre and acidic collision of peaches and horseradish. The last time I went, these hot-and-cold shrimp weren’t on the menu. I hope they are using their time away to think about the choices they’ve made.

“Smart” dishes Wells enjoyed included rigatoni with yellow wax beans and gold tomatoes, steak marinated in soy sauce, and roasted hake with sweet and spicy peppers. One star.

• Lost in New York at Public Kitchen [ENY]