Restaurant Critic Roundup: Newport Beach's Tamarind 'May Be' The Best Indian Food In Southern California

This week near Los Angeles, critic Jonathan Gold grapples over the essence of authentic Indian food, and which spot serves Southern California's best.

In New York, critic Pete Wells updates the former 2005 The New York Times review of the Dining Room at The Modern, keeping the three-star rating. About his guest's glee at being able to order three dishes of foie gras, Wells comments that "the three dishes could have been a monotonous episode in self-indulgence," but "instead they were a memorable demonstration of the skill, inventiveness, and discipline that permit Mr. Kreuther to make his ingredients do what he wants them to do while still tasting like themselves." 

In Washington, D.C., critic Tom Sietsema reviews Baltimore restaurant Johnny's. The "mishmash" restaurant, he says after a conversation with Tony Foreman, co-owner alongside Cindy Wolf, channels "hybrid menus reflecting the Asian and Hispanic cooks who prepared them," that he experienced in his 20s in California. 

As always, the ratings range from stars to bells to beans, but every review offers specialized insight into the food, atmosphere, and service of eateries in each city's dining scene and the critics eating at them.
 

Restaurant Critic Roundup: 3/27/2013


Critic Publication Restaurant Rating
Katie Johnston Boston Globe Puritan & Company 2.5 stars
Pete Wells The New York Times The Dining Room at The Modern 3 stars
Michael Kaminer New York Daily News Murray's Cheese Bar 3 stars
Jonathan Gold Los Angeles Times Tamarind of London  
Brad A. Johnson Orange County Register Bruno's Trattoria 2 stars
Tom Sietsema Washington Post Johnny's 2 stars
Robert Moss Charleston City Paper The Sloppy Cow  

 

Click here for The Daily Meal's "Top Chefs Review — and Rate — America's Food Critics."

 

Tyler Sullivan is The Daily Meal's assistant editor. Follow her on Twitter at @atylersullivan