On Monday, New York’s Underground Gourmet gave three stars to Asian gastropub the Toucan and the Lion. What did New York’s crop of professional eaters think about the city’s restaurants this week? Let’s take a look.
Pete Wells discovered a gem in Kyo Ya, a Japanese restaurant that has kept a low profile for five years on the Lower East Side. For those willing to spend a little money, the kaiseki menu is a can’t-miss, but Wells also enjoys à la carte dishes such as kurobuta kakuni, a simmered pork belly, or pressed sushi. Wells awards Kyo Ya three stars. [NYT]
The Times also approved of Speedy Romeo, which brings St. Louis-style pizza (and the city’s famous Provel cheese) to Brooklyn. [NYT]
But the Gray Lady’s critics stopped short of praise for Pera Soho, where it is “possible to have an acutely bad meal … consisting of underseasoned salads and brochettes and overpriced wines, served with painful slowness by a jumpy and inexperienced staff.” [NYT]
The New Yorker takes a table at Acme and loves, among other dishes, “the magnificent beer-and-bread porridge with salted-caramel ice cream,” as we did too. [NYer]
Both locations of Zero Otto Nove received praise from the Village Voice’s Robert Sietsema. On Arthur Avenue, “One need only go as far as the margherita ($13.95) to find an admirably firm crust with a fleecy crumb beneath”; in the Flatiron “As at any Italian-American place in NYC, one is well-advised to seek out the baked pastas,” in addition to the pizzas. [VV]
