Critic Roundup: Nashville's Husk Is "More Splendid"
This week in restaurant news, critic Alan Richman reviews Husk's new location in Nashville, Tenn. While the Charleston, S.C., location was "beyond disappointing" for him, Richman says this one is "more splendid." At the Nashville restaurant, which he notes is on a "curious, out-of-the-way street that calls to mind a more gracious past," the servers are "far more polished" and explain every step of a dish's preparation to customers. Having tried the Manchester Farms Quail, Husk Boudin, Smoky Lady Peas, and Farm Fried Egg, Richman praises the dishes as "as good as Southern cooking gets, wonderfully soft, sensuous, and homey, filled with tastes we don't come across where I come from." For Richman, Nashville's Husk "demonstrated sophistication I didn't see in Charleston."
In Los Angeles, Terroni appears "as if the owners were checking the conventions of a postmodern Italian restaurant off a standard list," says critic Jonathan Gold. "A movie screen that day in, day out shows nothing but Fellini's La Dolce Vita? Check. Taped Italian-language lessons in the bathrooms? Check. Tables numbered in Italian, a wall of hanging meats, and a chandelier that looks as if it were purchased at the estate sale of a Tuscan castle? It goes without saying."
In New York, critic Ryan Sutton highlights the pigs-in-a-blanket at Alder. He says: "The sausages are porky, Lap Cheong-style morsels wrapped in compressed hot dog rolls and topped with sinus-clearing mustard. The flavor takes us back to the Cantonese-American carry-out joints that nourished us before we got obsessed with micro-regional Chinese cuisine."
Restaurant Critic Roundup: 10/23/2013
| Critic | Publication | Restaurant | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gael Greene | Insatiable Critic | Toro | |
| Alan Richman | GQ | Husk | 3 stars |
| Ryan Sutton | Bloomberg | Alder | 2.5 stars |
| Pete Wells | New York Times | Le Restaurant | 2 stars |
| Tom Sietsema | Washington Post | Mix Bar and Grille | |
| Devra First | The Boston Globe | Ribelle | |
| Jonathan Gold | Los Angeles Times | Terroni | |
| William Porter | The Denver Post | Vine Street Pub & Brewery | 2 stars |
| Stan Sagner | NY Daily News | Estrellita Poblana III | |
| Michael Bauer | San Francisco Chronicle | Pesce | 2.5 stars |
| Scott Reitz | Dallas Observer | Village Kitchen |
Click here for The Daily Meal's "Top Chefs Review — and Rate — America's Food Critics."
Haley Willard is The Daily Meal's assistant editor. Follow her on Twitter at @haleywillrd.