"ATMOSPHERE People who sell in the bar, people who own in the dining room. All act accordingly." Sam Sifton visits Charlie Palmer's latest iteration of Aureole and comes away unimpressed, describing the restaurant as "meh" and "a love letter to an America we see reflected back at us in unflattering light: relatively happy, unthinking, desirous mostly of sugar and fat." There is a lot going on here.
Since when is "meh" a "New York" expression? I thought it was from the internet.
And "relatively happy" sounds kinda fun these days.
Ooh snap! He's right though. 'Sweet', in and of itself, is not an interesting taste, as the only thing it really says to your tastebuds is "I am not poisonous" (as compared to bitter or sour). Sweet is lazy and one-dimensional in food–it's a lowest common denominator.
Anti-freeze supposedly has a sweet taste too.
Love his reviews! But is this missing something, or am I? Because I don't actually get it: "At every table someone’s either shouting or lap dancing his phone."
I'm picturing a lot of wiggling and grabbing of butts. But beyond that, yeah, I dunno.
No, I didn't get the lap dancing phone either, and what little I got painted a very vulgar picture indeed. Maybe it originally said "fellating his phone" and the Times changed it?
This also works.
"That’s Vegas for you. It’s not New York," plus heaping helpings of "fat" "grease" and "slime." I'm thinking he and Cintra Wilson are totally banging each other. Abe, get on this shit.
Among my laugh outs was this dollop: "One meal ended with a cheesecake made with blue cheese that tasted exactly like what you'd get if you mistakenly made a cheesecake with blue cheese"
"Lap dancing his phone"= all up in his face. Also: trying to make bank. People in the bar are sales types, worker bees, what- have-you.