Eater Announces Their Restaurant Critics

[Sneakeater]

Boy that's pretty syncretic.

[sweatshorts]

Sutton and Sietsema managed to write a few thousand words on Laser Wolf without answering the one question I have: does each skewer order get their own individual salatim (i.e., you get one of those platters per skewer ordered) or is it one per table / per certain number of diners regardless of the number of skewers ordered?

https://ny.eater.com/2022/9/19/23361287/laser-wolf-review-williamsburg-rooftop-meat-skewer-israeli-nyc-restaurants

(Not that it really matters given how hard it appears to be to get in. Oh goody, I can get a 10:15PM counter seat on Monday October 10th!)

[rozrapp]

39 minutes ago, sweatshorts said:

Sutton and Sietsema managed to write a few thousand words on Laser Wolf without answering the one question I have: does each skewer order get their own individual salatim (i.e., you get one of those platters per skewer ordered) or is it one per table / per certain number of diners regardless of the number of skewers ordered?

https://ny.eater.com/2022/9/19/23361287/laser-wolf-review-williamsburg-rooftop-meat-skewer-israeli-nyc-restaurants

(Not that it really matters given how hard it appears to be to get in. Oh goody, I can get a 10:15PM counter seat on Monday October 10th!)

The menu on the Laser Wolf website says it’s a prix-fixe. Ergo, each person gets salatim with hummus and pita, choice of skewer, and (the only) dessert.

[Sneakeater]

I ate at Lazer Wolf solo, by myself, at the bar, so I don't have any experience there with multiple diners.  Based on the physical size of the salatim platter, however, I can't really see how each person sitting at a table could get one.  They wouldn't all fit!

That's not to say, of course, that the the size of the portion on each plate on the platter wouldn't be adjusted to account for the number of people that ordered.  (The portions I got for one person were more than one person could comfortably finish -- but, knowing myself, I'm pretty sure I managed.)

When you order mezze at a Lebanese restaurant, or a relish tray at a Midwestern supper club, you only get one platter for the table.  That's how dishes like that are served.

If anyone cares, I almost completely agree with Sietsema on this one.  (I disagree insofar as I thought the restaurant  gatekeeping staff in the hotel lobby were very nice -- although the lobby itself is, indeed, creepy.)  I'm a Solomonov fan -- but I can't see ever going back to Lazer Wolf voluntarily.

[Sneakeater]

The opening sentence of Sietsema's write-up of the reopened Noodletown literally does not make sense:

Quote

Cantonese has always been the core cuisine of Chinatown, though gradually supplanted by Fujianese, Taiwanese, Sichuan, Shanghainese, and non-Chinese food.

[Sneakeater]

Also, he doesn't answer the key question:  HOW ARE THE BATHROOMS??????????????

[Anthony Bonner]

51 minutes ago, Sneakeater said:

I ate at Lazer Wolf solo, by myself, at the bar, so I don't have any experience there with multiple diners.  Based on the physical size of the salatim platter, however, I can't really see how each person sitting at a table could get one.  They wouldn't all fit!

That's not to say, of course, that the the size of the portion on each plate on the platter wouldn't be adjusted to account for the number of people that ordered.  (The portions I got for one person were more than one person could comfortably finish -- but, knowing myself, I'm pretty sure I managed.)

When you order mezze at a Lebanese restaurant, or a relish tray at a Midwestern supper club, you only get one platter for the table.  That's how dishes like that are served.

If anyone cares, I almost completely agree with Sietsema about Lazer Wolf.  (I disagree insofar as I thought the restaurant  gatekeeping staff in the hotel lobby were very nice -- although the lobby itself is, indeed, creepy.)  I'm a Solomonov fan -- but I can't see ever going back to Lazer Wolf voluntarily.

I'm confused about the Zahav reference. I ate at Zahav and while the meal had more courses. the first course was also Salatim/Mezze 

[Sneakeater]

But the non-salatim courses at Lahav aren't limited to skewers and soft serve.

[Sneakeater]

Lazer Wolf isn't really a restaurant by @Wilfrid/Dr. Johnson's (overly restrictive) definition.  Zahav is.

[Sneakeater]

Which Zahav reference do you mean exactly?

[Anthony Bonner]

I quoted the wrong piece of course

I meant this:

Quote

Fans of Solomonov’s famed Zahav should note that Laser Wolf is a very different venue. This isn’t so much about composed, creative plates as it is about mezze and charcoal-grilled meat. The set-menu format is simple:

IIRC Zahav was similarly a set menu format.  Granted the main course was a braise not a kebab and there were more courses.

[Sneakeater]

Yeah, that's what I thought you were referring to.

I think the point is simple kababs (really that's all they are) v. "creative composed plates"  (which is certainly the Zahav proffer).

There's nothing about the Lazer Wolf skewers that screams out "world famous chef".  (It would be another thing if they were superb [like say the chicharrones at Elsa la Reina or the jerk at Forever Jerk], but as even Sutton allows, they aren't as good as the ones at Farida.)

[Sneakeater]

(It's pretty clear that Sutton has been to Zahav and Sietsema hasn't.)

[joethefoodie]

4 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

The opening sentence of Sietsema's write-up of the reopened Noodletown literally does not make sense:

He also says:

Quote

Beef chow fun is an important dish from the Chinese American canon, a thicket of agreeably soft and wide wheat noodles dressed with tender beef and green vegetables. Two versions of this dish are available, though the menu doesn’t mention it. Ask for chow fun “with gravy,” making it one of the world’s great comfort foods.

The only thing wrong about that is everything - i think chow fun are generally (always?) rice noodles.

[Sneakeater]

I always ask for mine with ketchup.