Pretty big news for an any restaurant in NYC to get four stars let alone an Italian joint. I remember seeing a documentary about the opening of the restaurant back in 2005ish where Mario said that their goal was to create a four star Italian restaurant. They definitely deserve congrats but I’m still a bit uneasy of Sam Sifton’s reviews. Haven’t been for dinner in a long time so I can’t comment myself but would love to hear what people think who have been there in the last 6 months…
definitely big news chris
i never think of that place because i always thought italian and fancy don’t go together
with marea and now lincoln, i guess i better start thinking differently, right?
anyone know why they got another review? can mario order these?
i can’t imagine there’s a hard and fast rule, but to the extent that the Times reviewer hears or has reason to know that it’s warranted, it’s relevant to the Times readers and therefore important. 2 other significant upgrades i can recall lately are EMP and Blue Hill. i’d like to see a list of downgrades too. just as relevant.
that said, i think it’s still important to note that not all 4-stars are created equally. nor 3-stars, etc. lots of compression with only 4 stars to give out. and at the high end, it’s binary – 3 or 4.
I haven’t been to Del Posto, and it certainly may be 4-stars worthy, but this didn’t read to me like a 4-star review. More like 3. And I have been really disappointed with the work of Sam Sifton. The Times should be able to get someone great to write about restaurants, someone with real knowledge of food and an international perspective. Sifton seems inconsistent and he’s trying too hard to be hip.
and at the high end, it’s binary – 3 or 4.[/quote]
yaacov
i agree with your thoughts on second reviews and was kidding of course about mario.
what does the binary comment mean?
Ouch!
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Anyone been to Lincoln yet? Going on Friday out of curiosity…
$40 corkage with 3 bottle limit is what they said on the phone.
michael
haven’t been but read a most favorable review on egullet. please post your impressions if you could as i can’t wait to go.
It’s just good to see Sam Sifton finally review a real restaurant in Manhattan, even if it is one that’s already been reviewed.
I don’t know - I think Sam Sifton’s writing is at least beautiful prose. Is he Frank Bruni? Perhaps not yet.
Sure, he’s a very good technical writer. But he doesn’t come across as an expert on fine dining. To be fair, I was never a big Bruni fan either (although I liked him better than I like Sifton).
My point is this: whoever is the NYT restaurant critic should be a real expert, with real experience and a global perspective. Asimov does this reasonably well with wine. He travels to France and Italy, tastes broadly, visits some of the world’s top winemakers, goes to La Paulee in Burgundy, etc. Sifton should be eating not only at New York places but also L’Arpege, La Pergola, Noma, El Poblet, bistros in Lyon, Ryugin in Tokyo, and at other top and notable places in the US. Not necessarily to review these places, but to have a perspective on why Bernardin/Per Se/etc are great, and how they compare to the benchmarks. In the end, Sifton’s job is to tell people where to eat in New York–but he can do that better with some perspective. If a wine critic only covers California, I still want him to taste Bordeaux, Burgundy, etc.
I don’t know - I think Sam Sifton’s writing is at least beautiful prose. Is he Frank Bruni? Perhaps not yet.[/quote]
Sure, he’s a very good technical writer. But he doesn’t come across as an expert on fine dining. To be fair, I was never a big Bruni fan either (although I liked him better than I like Sifton).
My point is this: whoever is the NYT restaurant critic should be a real expert, with real experience and a global perspective. Asimov does this reasonably well with wine. He travels to France and Italy, tastes broadly, visits some of the world’s top winemakers, goes to La Paulee in Burgundy, etc. Sifton should be eating not only at New York places but also L’Arpege, La Pergola, Noma, El Poblet, bistros in Lyon, Ryugin in Tokyo, and at other top and notable places in the US. Not necessarily to review these places, but to have a perspective on why Bernardin/Per Se/etc are great, and how they compare to the benchmarks. In the end, Sifton’s job is to tell people where to eat in New York–but he can do that better with some perspective. If a wine critic only covers California, I still want him to taste Bordeaux, Burgundy, etc.[/quote]
great post ryan.
They’ve never had anyone as good as Ruth Reichl since she left. Bruni was a good writer, but not someone with a deep enough knowledge of food. I’m not sure Sifton will qualify as either, plus he has the annoying habit of reviewing places well outside of the mainstream of fine dining. Something it is important to do occasionally to be sure, but he does it far too often.
Ha ha this is funny. Over on the other board I had a huge disagreement with members when I said i didn’t like Bruni. IMHO, any critic should knowledge byond being a consumer of the industry they are reviewing.
Sifton has some great lines, some have me actually chuckling out loud at my desk. That is also his greatest flaw. When I read many of his reviews I feel as if he spent the majority of his time at dinner trying to think of a clever line and figure out a witty slant on “the scene”. His writing can be good so I get sucked into this occasionally but overall leaves his reviews hollow and lacking truth about the food and overall experience which is the most important part of a critic’s job, not getting laughs.
No one has been in the last 6 months though? Restaurant is even more off the wine geek grid then I thought…
No one has been in the last 6 months though? Restaurant is even more off the wine geek grid then I thought…[/quote]
iirc, ray t. was there with antonio g. for some big time dinners not too long ago. maybe he could chime in?
Shocking. I thought it barely deserved 3 NYT stars. Four is ridiculous for this restaurant.
Good call Mark. I actually stopped by to taste a couple Champagnes before their insanely awesome dinner started.
Calling King Angry or any of the other lumbers, what do you think? 4 stars? Is Marea still at the top of the fine Italian dining hierarchy in NYC for you or is Del Posto the new champion?
Now there is an opinion! How recent was your experience?