Back on the “Grill”; I have to say I find everything Torrise and Carbone do a turn-off. Maybe it’s having grown up in Queens in an Italian-American neighborhood, where the food in the delis was fantastic (handmade mozz and tortellini and so on, not much seen in the 70’s), but I never thought the food suffered from NOT being rich enough, nor having too much subtlety. Same with French, dirty or not, and now, it sounds like with this. The food journey, like the wine journey is a long one–and of course, neither are the most important–but, really, why start back at the beginning?
liked ataboy a decent amount. the highs were very high, but somewhat rare. the fried chicken isn’t good, it’s terrible. shockingly so. the pork jowel was also terrible and leathery. the mackerel main was stupendous. the beef tartare was average. lotus root off the charts. found generally the flavors to be subtle. i’m surprised no one mentioned how they come around the dining room with one-off specials for various prices (as low as $2 per). i liked that a lot.
Had dinner at 21 Greenpoint last night, FKA River Styx, notorious for its grand opening with Bill Murray (the owner’s son) slinging bar. The setting is very pretty and a great casual date spot. Their menu is ambitious and they have an electic drink list. Portions were larger than I expected and the restaurant might have bit more than it could chew on a handful of dishes. An asparagus starter was presented very simply, like something you’d see at fine French cuisine, with spears piled on a bed adorned with some marcona almonds and mouse. The asparagus was drizzled with nice acidity (a theme to a lot of the dishes), but the vegetable wasn’t good enough to hold that type of a simple preparation, which leaves one to wonder why not give it more of a supporting cast?
Same for a bluefish salad, which was chock-full of oyster mushrooms, chunks of fish, and burnt crispy rice (a middle eastern specialty called “Tadeeg”). Lot of promising ingredients, but the salad felt harried and didn’t have enough care and prep. A mushroom and green sauce pizza was quite nice, as was a rich nettle pesto gnocchi. In short, great neighborhood place with maybe too ambitious food at a good price point. Corkage friendly ($25).
What’s up with Sauvage and the merry-go-round of chefs?
Good restaurant, but 3rd time in 6 months with another chef.
i’m told the new guy/team are good. so at least in the near term, shouldn’t be much of a change.
Jumping in here for a recommendation of where I might take my daughter, her boyfriend, and his parents for dinner. His parents live in Bronxville and daughter/boyfriend live in Yorkville. I’m thinking somewhere like Lincoln (is it any good?), because Pete was the captain of the firehouse there. They are fish adverse. I’m going to pay and don’t want to be showy. Or cheap. Please advise.
I don’t know how the food is at Lincoln. I would point out that it is a bit showy and on the west side so not exactly easy to get to if you are coming in from Grand Central.
Can you give a bit more information on what type of cuisine, place and general area.
An enthusiastic two stars for Atoboy, very happy for them!
does this mean that they don’t eat fish AND that they will fight anyone that eats fish? 
if you’re going in an out of grand central, flatiron area is good and rich with options. i’d put le coq rico high on the list. checks most/all of your boxes i think.
Any thoughts on Gunter Seeger? I have heard mixed reviews.
George
I went a few times and thought Lincoln was good but not great. That said, it’s been a couple of years since I’ve eaten there so things may now be different although I haven’t heard a word about it in quite a while.
Personally I was half expecting 3* but at least this way reservations may remain available. And the tenor of the review was as positive as they could ask. No surprise given that he tried the lotus root dish 
.
I see Flatiron mentioned, being close enough to Grand Central.
I’ll throw in ABC Kitchen. The menu is creative, and has everything for everybody. Not showy, but up there in good dining experience.
Another choice in that area: The Cannibal on E 29th. Either the Liquor House or Butcher.
I agree, I was hoping for a 3* and fearing a 1* whiney review as he is so unpredictable. I think a 2* and his write up is more than fair and I would agree that Aska and Tori Shin two recent 3* reviews are a notch above. I would also add that Atoboy is at a significantly lower price point so I think they will be swamped given the rave review and mention of the $36 tasting menu. I could not be happier for them.
NoMad on 28th and Broadway would work.
NoMad >> Lincoln.
Been to NoMad many times. Looking for something new and hopefully more uptown. Good choice, though.
Vaucluse.
Ristorante Morini - Madison at 85th - 86th