Today's review roundup includes: Mix, 50 Carmine, Hacienda de Argentina, Pop's Pierogi, Sumile, Blue Sky Bakery
NYTimes Restaurants William Grimes reviews Mix and gives it two stars (68 West 58th Street):
Mr. Ducasse, the chef with the galaxy's worth of Michelin stars, and Mr. Chodorow, the club-minded restaurateur responsible for China Grill, Hudson Cafeteria and Rocco's on 22nd, have a bottomless bag of tricks that they are dying to show you at their fun house. For starters, a waiter presents a marble toast rack with neat triangles of toasted country bread and three little ceramic pots containing peanut butter, Concord grape jelly and salted butter. Then comes the recitation, explaining the restaurant's philosophy. Listen hard, because it is confusing. Mix, one is told, aims to build a bridge between the Atlantic coasts of the United States and France, with homey dishes from both countries, although many of the dishes seem to have nothing to do with the Atlantic.
With a flourish, the waiter then presents the day's appetizers, or the First of Mix. There are five, lined up on a narrow shelf supported, like a hospital stretcher, by an X-shape steel frame on wheels. They are encased in clear glass vessels with lids, making them look a little like leftovers from the refrigerator. Or perhaps they are meant to suggest an in-flight meal, although airplanes do not travel trans-Atlantic bridges.
At any rate, there is not a lot of time to think about it, because the waiter must now explain the menu formula. Listen hard, because it is confusing. Believe me, there really is a difference between Mix of Mix and Mix Prix Fixe, two menu options, and diners who pay close attention will be sure to figure it out.
RECOMMENDED DISHES Bouillabaisse; duck ham with corn and chorizo; glazed shrimp with eggplant; elbow macaroni with ham and truffle jus; veal blanquette; bison pot-au-feu; pork with barbecue sauce; chocolate pizza.
Now that I have read nearly a dozen reviews of Mix, I think I can safely summarize the critics' verdict: "A pricey mixed bag." But in case you need to read more, here's another review.
For the price--the three-course prix-fixe is $72--and for the pedigree--it is, after all, Ducasse--the food should be better. Touted as Atlantic coast American with western European influence, many dishes simply taste like mediocre comfort food. Most disappointing is the "macaroni" and cheese, actually tubular pasta with a layer of cheese that simply lays on top; it's a sad excuse for mac-n-cheese. The chicken potpie, though, is quite good, and the clam chowder is out of this world, but too many dishes--including a lifeless stuffed veal and uninspired halibut with four flavors--just fall flat. For dessert, the chocolate pizza is fun, but the gorgeous chocolate "Mix" cake tastes better.
NYTimes $25 and Under Eric Asimov reviews 50 Carmine (50 Carmine Street (Bedford Street)):
At their best, Ms. Jenkins's pastas are thrilling. I could not tell you which cheeses she uses in the creamy sauce of her deceptively simple pasta with many cheeses ($12), but the combination is astoundingly good. In a seemingly more complicated dish, tortelli di patate ($13), she encases airy puréed potato in gossamer pasta wrappers and serves the little spheres in a meat sauce reduced to its syrupy essence, adding a bit of horseradish for a jolt of brightness. Pennette Abbruzzese ($14), quill pasta in a classic combination of crumbled sausage and bitter broccoli rabe, is quintessentially Italian in the lightness and proportion of the sauce, while pappardelle with wild boar sauce ($14) is richer and heartier without sacrificing delicacy.
Main courses can seem anticlimactic after the pastas, but several are superb. Rabbit with Umbrian chickpeas ($18) comes in an almost perfect tomato sauce, drained of harsh acidity, leaving just an enticing, flavorful coating to cushion the rabbit. And her fricassee of lamb with braised artichokes ($19) is a study in complementary flavors. Eat a bite of the lamb alone and it seems almost muttony, but try it with the artichoke and it all makes sense.
BEST DISHES Escarole salad; arugula salad; watercress and endive salad; twice-fried artichoke leaves; baccalà mantecato; pasta with many cheeses; tortelli di patate; pennette Abbruzzese; pappardelle with wild boar sauce; rabbit with chickpeas; fricassee of lamb with braised artichokes; chocolate mousse.
NY Post Steve Cuozzo reviews Hacienda de Argentina (339 E. 75th St., at First Ave.):
"Phenomenon" describes Hacienda. In a town where new Argentine restaurants usually close instantly, it's booming four months after it opened on the jinxed site of a sad procession of failed Czech, Indian, pan-Asian and American places.
Why? Because Hacienda might be the most reasonably priced steakhouse within three ZIP codes. I'm still amazed over a modest $25.50 tab for a 10-ounce cut of juicy, flavorful, beautifully crusted USDA prime filet mignon.
. . . Not surprisingly, Hacienda is mainly about meat. Most choices are grilled and served with chimichurri that might be the town's best rendition of the indispensable Argentine condiment, pre-marinated to bring the parsley, red pepper and lemon to a peak of concentrated intensity.
You won't go wrong with chorizo ($7.50) to start. Fiery Spanish red pork sausage brings home the bacon; the Argentine and salchicha versions are good enough but too similar to justify ordering the $21.50 sampler that includes all three. House-made empañadas ($7.50) betray a doughy crust and formulaic quality whether filled with mushrooms, spinach and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, or sausage and provolone.
Digital City reviews Pop's Pierogi (190 Bleecker St.):
Pierogi, pelmeni, pirozhki -- perplexed? Not to worry, the glossary-like menu at Pop's Pierogi will explain it all for you -- including the proper pronunciations (so you look slightly less silly stumbling over the words.) The foodstuffs in question are actually dumplings, the specialty of choice at this casual West Village cafe, where Eastern European cuisine reigns supreme. Baked, boiled or pan-fried, these sweet and savory pockets come stuffed with a variety of fillings, like mashed potatoes, mushrooms, cheese or cherries.
We visited Sumile recently and I think everyone at our table would agree that for the money, it was pretty "eh." Citysearch reviews Sumile (154 W 13th St):
The menu consists of just a dozen or so Pan-Asian small plates, all totally without starch of any kind. The staff recommends three or four dishes per diner; in practice, even four feels skimpy, but ordering five makes for a pretty pricey dinner. Flavors, though, don't skimp: Dishes are subtle yet flavorful, and quite tasty. A potent, texturally pleasing salad of squid and mixed fresh beans with an uni/XO dressing, and a quartet of Kumamoto oysters with pineapple vinegar standout. Fatty calf's-head terrine with duck's-tongue salad is a rarefied taste, but excellently prepared. Toro tartare with abalone shreds and sevruga is very nice, except for the dullish caviar, but at twice the price and half the size of the other dishes, it's a splurge. Among desserts, only an unsweet passionfruit sabayon is truly not worth ordering.
Citysearch reviews Blue Sky Bakery (53 5th Ave, Park Slope):
The small pastry case is light on the frou-frou frosted sweets and heavy on down-home desserts and snacks. There's moist banana bread, wonderfully sticky sour cream-nut cake, and tall, chocolate-ganache torte that's worthy of a Manhattan migration. The mammoth muffins run the gamut from wonderful (apple bran) to weird (zucchini-plum), and croissants are indisputably buttery. Hard cookies and floury pie crusts could improve, and the bland chicken empanadas leave only a few savories to be desired: piquant olive-onion-Virginia ham pizza, and daily-changing quiche.
