Taco Bell’s Millennial-Bait Boozy NYC Cantina Is a Fail, Critic Says

Reviewing Taco Bell Cantina and Bushwick’s Mission Chinese

The Post’s Steve Cuozzo stepped foot in one of Taco Bell’s new boozy Cantinas, a bid from the fast-food giant for more of an adult hangout experience, and he did not leave satisfied. Cuozzo thought the food was just fine — except for the “power bowl chicken,” which had no flavor, he wrote — and that the scene was weird, thanks to “comical aspirations to hipness” and a mixed-bag crowd of “kids too young to drink, hungry truck drivers, cops on breaks and a few thoroughly lost-looking souls...” Most horrifyingly, Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” played during four of his five visits.

Over in Bushwick, Grub Street’s Adam Platt reviewed the new-ish, neon-filled location of Mission Chinese in Bushwick and recommends the lamb riblets, which he calls delicious, with “a slightly weird, unexpected crunch.” He seemed less a fan of the clubby scene and noted that he won’t be running back soon, but those ribs really got him.

A coming attraction and a temporary closure

Grey Lady owner Ryan Chadwick is plotting a new Creole restaurant called Canary for the former Louie & Chan space at 303 Broome St. on the Lower Ease Side. It will serve small plates like a crayfish pie as well as jambalaya and gumbo options and have a jazz performance space downstairs. Over in the East Village, Hakata Zen, which serves hot pot and sushi at 31 St. Mark’s Pl., is closed for renovations.

An NYC-based chef is a Hell’s Kitchen finalist

Chef Ariel Fox of Mexican chain Dos Caminos is a top-four finalist on Hell’s Kitchen season 18. She was previously a top-three finalist during season six of the Gordon Ramsay-hosted competition series known for its expletives. The next episode airs on Friday.

Candace Bushnell is writing NYC-specific fortunes for Hakkasan

Writer and journalist Candace Bushnell, who wrote the book that inspired the Sex and the City TV series, is now writing the fortunes displayed in Cantonese restaurant Hakkasan’s “fortune macarons,” which are being served through February 19 as part of Lunar New Year celebrations. The cookies are $13 for four and include Bushnell-written fortunes like, “You’ll witness Cynthia Nixon on the subway eating her cinnamon raison bagel with lox,” and, “A Real Housewife will spill her drink on you at the hotspot Omar’s.”