the hostess should never be having a drink at 9PM

xing

ici part 2

what happens to a restaurant after its golden hour?

schiller's

decibel's older sister uptown

sakagura

jerked meatloaf?

ici

hasaki is still hasaki

tapas is not asian fusion.

soh-my

vegetarian greasefest

counter 7th street & 1st ave

just because they call it vegetarian, it certainly dont mean its healthy. and just because there's white tablecloth, it dont mean its a fine dining establishment.

ok, at least the bread was good, it had a sourdoughy tang. the pureed sweet potatoes were good, but its really hard to fuck up a sweet potato. you wrap it in foil, stick it in the oven, and wait until the caramelized sugar starts to ooze out of the foil.

but the bowtie pasta with cabbage, hazeluts, and some kind of pesto was just pure oil. oil and nuts and some sulfurous greens, melded together by a glutinous, overcooked pasta. if you remove all the descriptors, you'd think that we're talking about something healthful. but it had no flavor, it tasted like nothing, and had the texture of oil.

i had 4 sides. the roasted vegetables were not special. a bite of parsnip, was kind of special, since it was a pleasant departure from the ordinary. the sauteed greens were murky, oily, and too garlicky. the marinated roasted tofu was strange, it could not really be described as chinese, nor vegetarian, nor healthy. but it falls under 2 of those umbrellas.

but what is the story with the french fries? the fries were handcut, with skin on, probably dusted with kosher or sea salt, but soggy and disappointing. what is the deal with the balsamic reduction? it clashed with the ketchup. if you're gonna give me a balsamic reduction, then it to me on the side, dont artfully jackson pollack it all over my fries.

it kept me from eating them, so my waistline thanks counter.

surburbia in carroll gardens

alma degraw & _____ carroll gardens

had i been transported to the suburbs? the tables and banquettes were spaced so far apart, that this couldnt possibly be new york.

sadly, the food tasted like suburban food. guacamole was not that special, ive had better from the supermarket. orange braised pork was cold, sitting on a dry slice of orange, guarded by a smash of guacamole, on a tart thing. it was garnished by sliced radishes, which was quite charming....and suburban. a side of sugar snap peas were dusted with cotija cheese, and sat on a bed of some kind of tomato sauce. the braised lamb shoulder was questionable. i hate it when food tastes better on the menu than in my mouth