January 1, 1980 | Vintage Insatiable

Vintage Insatiable Critic: 1980-1984

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Centuries from now Venusian archaeologists digging in the rubble of Manhattan will find shards of old Cuisinarts and rusted truffle tins and then melted, twisted hulks of electric pasta machines - relics of a civilization that prattled endlessly about what to feed its stomach…and how…and where…more...

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THAT OLD CÔTE BASQUE MAGIC

April 14, 1980

After just four weeks, the restaurant is decidedly Rachou's arena. But the clichés of L'Academie
Pavillon, the Henri Soulé prep school that created the image of fine French feeding in Manhattan, are fading... more 

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LA TULIPE IN BLOOM

May 19, 1980

It takes a blend of innocence, arrogance, optimism, and obsessed dedication to venture a French restaurant in Manhattan when you are an American groomed for the law, education, computer domination or creative playthings.  “I’m going to open the perfect little French restaurant and show them all how,” Sally Darr reportedly vowed…more

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WHAT'S NOUVELLE? LA CUISINE BOURGEOISE

June 2, 1980

The nouvelle cuisine is dead. Finie. Morte. Tombée. Even before I arrived in Paris last fall, I was bombarded with the bulletins: La nouvelle cuisine is…dead. I nibbled my kiwi in puzzled dismay... more

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THE SEAWEED FACTOR: KURUMAZUSHI/SHALOM JAPAN

November 17, 1980

Japan delivers the taste of astonishment: Kurumazushi (inscrutable by design) and Shalom Japan (a kosher nightclub)... more

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GREAT CHEFS, INSPIRED FEASTS

January 12, 1981

It’s not that New York’s affluent mouths are jaded. Oh, I suppose some of ours are. But, by far, the true provocation for all the culinary high jinks and experiment is our great appetite for adventure. Self-taught chefs,yearn to grow and create. Professionals groomed in the classic French tradition leap to the challenge…more

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OF FOOD AND THE RIVER

April 13, 1981

Let me admit straightaway that my unabashed crush on New York City can't help but brighten the shimmer of an outing at the River Cafe. Still, even a jaded urbanophobe would be stirred by the diamond filigree of bridge and tower in moonlight... more

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STILL MORE CONFESSIONS OF A SENSUALIST

April 20, 1981

In praise of fried onions at Wylie's, sautéed kidneys at Maurice, salmon trout at the Palace, duck soup at Simonsmore

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CHINESE: HAUTE OR HOMESTYLE

July 20, 1981

Hear the bravos at Lincoln Center. Not tonight for Baryshnikov or Beethoven. No. Tonight we salute dim sum, tangy hot-and-sour soup, eggplant as voluptuous as an overripe peach. Shun Lee West, a serious great restaurant has finally come to the Upper West Side…Stalking offal at Home Village…more

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EAT AND BE SEEN: ODEON, JOANNA, NUCCIO

August 3, 1981

There is a species of Manhattan snob who will insist he or she has never been south of 57th Street and thinks the Upper West Side is attached to New Jersey. So what, pray tell... more

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NOUVELLE BOUNCE AT LE PÉRIGORD

February 8, 1982

The new chef from has certainly revitalized the fusty Périgord. Its doddering lineup of dreary classics is gone... more

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DINNER AT THE DAKOTA

October 25, 1982

“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” That’s a motto Sheila Lukins lives by. Once upon a time, Sheila was just an innocent and passionate hausfrau...more

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PLAISIR BY ANY OTHER NAME

February 14, 1983

Hard to imagine anyone recapturing the sense-dizzying electricity, the innocent eccentricity of Le Plaisir at its most glorious...more

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SHOOTING FOR STARS AT THE POLO

February 21, 1983

Spiffed up and clubby, the Polo may not be instant perfection, but there are dazzlers emerging from the kitchen…more

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AUNTIE YUAN: A THEATER OF TASTE

July 18, 1983

This brave departure from New York’s Chinese-restaurant cliché may startle pepper-blistered palates…
more

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I'LL TAKE ROMANCE

July 25, 1983

Fans of the Late Late Show will recognize Erminia at once. It’s that cozy little Italian joint, just down the street where Gene Kelly would woo “the girl.” ... more

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THE ICE CREAM RENAISSANCE

September 12, 1983

Surely this is what the decline and fall o f Rome must have felt like: a jaded populace, all morality abandoned, lurching about the streets in search of new sensory stimulation... more

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HALF-MOON OVER MANHATTAN

October 8, 1984

Why is Mezzaluna the hot fueling spot of the moment? It is winsome. It is clever. And sometimes the food is splendid…more

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A BREAKTHROUGH ON THE WESTERN FRONT

October 23, 1983

Oh how hungry we are, we Zip Code-hopping cowboys of Manhattan’s West Side. How we've longed for a cozy neighborhood feeding station... more

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VENETIAN VANITIES

April 11, 1984

Is it the cacophony of hell’s antechamber or Venetian carnevale?... more

 

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THERE'S A SMALL HOTEL

October, 22, 1984

The new Plaza Athénée is not very French and not grand enough, but its restaurant’s a hit with the neighborhood richlings…
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THE  TAPA-DANCE KID

November 12, 1984

Antoni Miralda’s calculated discount funk and witty food-art set the stage for Barcelona’s Montse Guillen and her fabulous tapas…more

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ROCKEFELLER CENTER RENAISSANCE

July 30, 1984

A power of Rockefellers and the once humbled now rejuvenated Restaurant Associates are out to woo us back to the sunken valley below the granite cliffs of Rockefeller center…A bright, skylit celebration of American dining: the posh Sea Grill, the American Festival Café, and Savories, each with its measure of alfresco. And it can be heaven. …more

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