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Critics Agree: It Is Time To Czech Out Hospoda
By
Garth Johnston
Published Sep 14, 2011
Modified Sep 14, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Sep 14, 2011
Modified Sep 14, 2011
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Sam Sifton may be stepping down as the Times' food critic but he's still got a few more reports to file first. So today we get a pleasant one-star review of the Pilsner Urquell-friendly Czech restaurant Hospoda that lives beneath the Consulate General of the Czech Republic. The food is good, the beer is remarkable considering there is only one type and "everything is prepared delicately, stylishly, the big flavors made demure by featherweight sizes, emphasizing modern presentation over traditional ones."
Sifton seems particularly charmed by the ham ("a thin-fingered delight, a dainty portion served in a bath of horseradish foam, with pickled beets that appear to be mere architectural details until their sweet acidity explodes in the mouth. They temper the smoky fat of the pork, the airy heat of the foam. The dish is old made new, history scrubbed of nostalgia.") but he takes time to point out the rest of the restaurant's charms. This isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread, the service in particular needs work, but it is definitely "a comfortable, welcoming place to eat."
And Sifton wasn't the only critic getting in touch with their Czech side this week. Time Out's Jay Cheshes went by Hospoda too, and really liked it. Like, four-stars liked it.
Meanwhile, in other reviews this week: Robert Sietsema went by Birreria, the beer garden above Eataly, and declares it "a real Batali-Bastianich production" ("the food is superb, and my guests and I never had a bad bite"). But the free paper's other critic, Lauren Shockey, was less impressed with the West Village bistro Left Bank. Over at New York, Adam Platt went and filed two one-star reviews for the West Village's Tremont (okay food, nice vibe) and Chelsea's Salinas (solid Spanish food served in a dark space). And finally, the New Yorker's Table for Two really, really likes Alex Stupak's West Village Mexican, Empellon.
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birreria
empellon
hospoda
left bank
midweek special
review roundup
salinas
Tremont
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