In his review today of Meatpacking newbie and self-described "restaurant concept," Ono, Frank Bruni loses it:
Planet Hollywood is a restaurant concept. Chi-Chi's is a restaurant concept. And what, really, are the Onos of this crafty and fabulous city other than upscale Chi-Chi's with more premium ingredients, more precious coctails and more primped patrons? Nigiri takes the place of nachos ? there are fewer calories that way. Higher tabs, too.Somehow, Chi-Chi's-in-the-Gansevoort emerges with a star. Still, if you see a middle-aged man stumbling around Little West 12th St. with meat skewers in his hands, repeating "gimmickery trumps gastronomy" again and again, steer clear.
· A Japanese Feast for All the Senses [nytimes.com]