Sam Sifton’s Top 10 New Restaurants of 2011
Published: December 27, 2011
FOLLOWING is a list of my favorite new restaurants among those that I reviewed in 2011, before stepping down as critic in October. It suggests a strong year for smart-casual cooking, the sort of food that takes a lot of work to prepare but is often served by people in untucked shirts and flash sneakers. Of course there were exceptions. Chief among them is a restaurant that narrowly missed inclusion here: the elegant Ai Fiori, which Michael White opened in the Setai Hotel. (Ai Fiori recently lost its chef, Chris Jaeckle.)
10. DANJI A small, new-style Korean take on a Japanese izakaya, Danji is a fiery taste of downtown in western Midtown, and ought to be on the list of any Broadway-bound New Yorker who’s interested in big flavors on small plates. 346 West 52nd Street, Midtown; (212) 586-2880
9. RED ROOSTER HARLEM Marcus Samuelsson built a big church of food in Harlem, and the crowds come daily to testify. Join them. The food — Swedish-African-American in spirit and fact — is not really the point, though it is often very good. 310 Lenox Avenue (125th Street), Harlem; (212) 792-9001.
8. TERTULIA Seamus Mullen’s smoky Spanish cider bar is a triumph of legitimacy over the myth of authenticity. More important, it is as pleasant a place to eat Ibérico ham, garlic, paprika and clams as exists inNew York City. 359 Avenue of the Americas (West Fourth Street), Greenwich Village; (646) 559-9909.
7. HUNAN KITCHEN OF GRAND SICHUAN Crazy name. Excellent Hunanese food in a setting devoted to the cult of Mao. Must order: “BBQ fish” and cumin lamb. 42-47 Main Street (Franklin Avenue), Flushing, Queens; (718) 888-0553.
6. EMPELLÓN The dining room may call to mind a brunch spot in coastal Delaware, but Alex Stupak, a modernist pastry chef who retired his Silpat to become a savory taco king, can cook more than a little bit. The result is a second-date restaurant of the very first order. 230 West Fourth Street (Seventh Avenue South), Greenwich Village; (212) 367-0999.
5. M. WELLS This French-Canadian diner in Long Island City opened in 2010, but only for breakfast. Dinner came this year, and then a rent dispute closed the restaurant. Still, what a run for those few months — foie gras everything.
4. CIANO Shea Gallante’s deeply sophisticated urban-Italian cooking pairs beautifully with the restaurant’s warm farmhouse setting. An excellent wine program rewards those who ask for the guidance of a sommelier. 45 East 22nd Street, Flatiron district; (212) 982-8422.
3. THE JOHN DORY OYSTER BAR There are no reservations taken at April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman’s loud and crowded restaurant off the lobby of the Ace Hotel. But waits are rewarded with some of the most exciting seafood in the city — and a sublime cityscape outside the broad glass windows. 1196 Broadway (29th Street), the Ace Hotel, Chelsea; (212) 792-9000.
A platter at the John Dory Oyster Bar in Midtown. More Photos »
2. BOULUD SUD Another winning effort from the prolific restaurateur Daniel Boulud, who offers here a kind of Mediterranean variation on the Lyonnaise theme he sounds at his Bar Boulud next door. Between those two and La Caridad on Broadway at 78th Street, there is little reason now to ever leave the Upper West Side to dine. 20 West 64th Street, Upper West Side; (212) 595-1313.
1. THE DUTCH Secure a booth in the back room, have a New York sour cocktail. Eat a tiny fried oyster sandwich, a bite of steak tartare, a dish of smoked chicken and mushroom stroganoff. Have a steak and some raw oysters. This Andrew Carmellini guy is some cook. Then eat pie and more pie, in a restaurant filled with New Yorkers pleased to be New Yorkers, eating in a New York restaurant, in SoHo in 2011. The Dutch, ladies and gentlemen, is my restaurant of the year. 131 Sullivan Street (Spring Street), SoHo; (212) 677-6200.
We are very excited to see Long Island City, Harlem and Queens represented in this list! We love eating in all three locations and the three spots you have listed are just a few of our favorite restaurants in the area.