The Lambs Club exhibits “a kind of purposeful embrace of the neighborhood’s past at the intersection of show people and investors, aw-shucks tourists and savvy New Yorkers,” says Sam Sifton. Executive chef Joel Dennis “has an excellent way with lamb,” Sifton notes. “His roasted saddle meat, with polenta and pignoli, is musky and sweet, a gamy, rich pleasure.” [NYT]
Related: Adam Platt Gets Clubby at Peels and Lambs Club
At FoodParc, “the burgers and dumplings are certainly an improvement on Wendy’s and Panda Express,” says Jay Cheshes. Still, the cooking is “uneven” — Fornetti, the Italian station, is “a conceptual mess” — and the user experience is “fundamentally flawed.” [TONY]
Related: A Look Inside FoodParc, the Midtown Food Court Inspired by Blade Runner
At Sohna Punjab, a Floral Park Indian restaurant, “anything that emerges sizzling from the tandoor is special,” Robert Sietsema declares. The Sohna Punjab biryani “represents all the flavor and zip of the old steam-table joints, folded into a single luscious creation.” [VV]
Adour Alain Ducasse “has defied New York’s haute-casual trend with fancy French frivolity,” says Ryan Sutton. Chef Didier Elena “cooks vegetables as well as Blue Hill and cote de boeuf as expertly as Minetta Tavern.” [Bloomberg]
Related: Finally Confirmed: Didier Elena Is New Chef At Adour Alain Ducasse
Steve Cuozzo takes on the food trucks that now park at Tavern on the Green and finds them lacking next to the “once marvelous” Tavern. “Give them their due,” Cuozzo concedes. “Service can be slow, but they make for pleasant, if messy, noshing.” [NYP]
Related: Food Trucks Debut at Tavern on the Green
“Bar Basque has serious ambition with a hot young vibe,” says Gael Greene. “And mostly we were wowed, starting with the amuse of truffled sheep’s milk in a pastry cone, pintxos of mushroom croquetas and slow baked piquillo peppers.” As for the décor, “Yes, it is very, very red,” Greene acknowledges. “I find it sexy, glamorous, James Bondian.” [Insatiable Critic]
Related: What To Eat At Jeffrey Chodorow’s Bar Basque
Boerum Hill’s Mile End “is a loyal homage to the comfort food that still defines the area,” Hannah Goldfield writes. “Except for a superlative matzo-ball soup, the menus more familial offerings—potato latkes at brunch, roast chicken at dinner—don’t fare quite as well, biases aside, unless your bubbe tends to overdo it on the salt.” [NYer]
