Restaurant review extravaganza 49 page 2

Origami / Girvan Grille / Burger Jones

So what are the odds that this will actually, uh, kill me? I wondered as I sped downtown to make my 7:30 dinner reservation. I consoled myself with the fact that there was a certain risk of death associated with eating spinach–greater still with ground beef. Hell, I was probably more likely to die in a car accident between my house and Origami than from eating my first bite of blowfish. More >>

New York

Sapthagiri

Ever since the local debut of the potato-stuffed crepe known as masala dosa at Madras Woodlands–a franchise from India that lurked near the U.N. in the late ’70s–southern Indian vegetarian cooking has gradually become more available in the metropolitan area. More >>

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Phoenix

Modern Steak

I was skeptical.

By now, don’t we all have steakhouse fatigue? After three celebrity chefs opened upscale temples to premium beef over the past two years, the news that yet another high-end steakhouse was in the works invited collective head scratching. The fact that Modern Steak is located at a mall — in Scottsdale Fashion Square’s recently built wing anchored by luxury department store Barneys New York — seemed ripe for some kind of punchline. More >>

San Francisco

Oye! Managua / Las Tinajas / Adelita’s Cakes

There’s something grounding about a plate of food we know we can’t possibly finish. Perhaps it’s that atavistic feeling of abundance and generosity it engenders. Perhaps it’s simply knowing we won’t be able to run or bend over for a few hours afterward. More >>

Jen Siska

“You’ll need to wait in line for the nacatamales, but they’re well worth it.”

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St. Louis

Brasserie by Niche

For his next trick, Gerard Craft will reinvent French cuisine in St. Louis.

I overstate, though this should be understandable. Over the past five years, first at his flagship restaurant, Niche, and then at Niche’s small but mighty offshoot Taste by Niche, Craft has become the most celebrated St. Louis chef — a Food & Wine magazine “Best New Chef,” a James Beard Foundation “Best Chef-Midwest” award nominee — the vanguard of a new generation committed to the chef- and ingredient-driven restaurant. More >>