The Other Critics

Kuh Cheers on Son of a Gun; Shatkin Cruises The Kosher Corridor

Son of a Gun's lobster roll
Son of a Gun’s lobster roll

Patrick Kuh washes off the stain of Sherry’s slam on Son of a Gun with soulful prose about Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s seafood-centric sequel. Enjoying the tasteful maritime decor, he asserts, “Crammed with dishes that delve into Americana, it’s clear the venture is modeled on those beloved lean-tos with trestle tables and weathered signs that cling to our landscape in the face of the plasticizing shit wave that has swept up so many beloved old hangouts.” Damn! Declaring the restaurant “too smart to get bogged down in sentimentality,” he appreciates the appearance of a diminutive lobster roll and recognizes that it’s “much more” than “the fish place from the Animal guys.” Stoked on the gator schnitzel and octopus confit salad, if not entirely taken by the uni-laced aglio e olio pasta, Kuh concludes, “Shook and Dotolo have never hidden their Southern roots…here Southern cooking is on an equal footing with the French and the Polynesian and all the other elements that infuse the menu.” [Los Angeles]

Son of a Gun’s lobster roll

With Jonathan Gold AWOL this week, Elina Shatkin takes the reigns and heads to the Kosher Corridor to pick her five favorite restaurants. Strong recommendations for Israeli shawarma, chosen carnitas, Persian kebab, Kosher sausages, and Hawaiian fried chicken follow. [LAW]

Declaring that “dinner was worth the [year-long] wait,” S. Irene Virbila heads to Brentwood’s Farmshop to find “[Jeff] Cerciello and his team are turning out some wonderful country cooking in the city.” Digging on the now defunct Ad Hoc-style family-style pre-fixe servings system, she decides, “The menu may sound basic, but skill and passion are in the details, starting with the quality of the ingredients.” Despite an inconsistency or two, she loves Cerciello’s compulsive cooking, though spying a nearly-empty room at 10:00 P.M., she has to worry, “Is the neighborhood going to support this smart, soulful restaurant?” Well, we’re not sure a two-and-a-half star rating creates too much urgency… [LAT]

Kuh Cheers on Son of a Gun; Shatkin Cruises The Kosher Corridor