Robert Sietsema

2 weeks ago | robertsietsema.substack.com | Robert Sietsema

I wrote this piece in 2017 for Eater. I was convinced it was information that readers of restaurant reviews ought to know. But it was never published. I have altered the piece slightly to reflect today’s restaurant reviewing environment, but otherwise this is just as it was written. Little did I know that I would become one of the restaurant reviewing casualties as I was laid off this past December.

2 weeks ago | robertsietsema.substack.com | Robert Sietsema

Florentin is a new restaurant at 480 Amsterdam Avenue that describes itself as a bistro, but it’s much more than that — or maybe a glimpse of what bistros are turning into as mid-decade approaches. And it’s a great place for a romantic dinner, as the restaurant illumination fades around sunset. Sure, all the bistro classics are there — French onion soup, tuna Nicoise, and steak frites, for example — but they are often gussied up with international elements.

3 weeks ago | robertsietsema.substack.com | Robert Sietsema

Indonesian restaurants have never really had a New York moment: Rarely have we had more than five or six at once. Yes, there have been two restaurants specializing in Balinese cooking, both now closed, and another place that offers a buffet of small dishes called by the Dutch colonial name of . But most have offered food from Java, the dominant island, with a smattering of dishes from elsewhere in the 17,508-island archipelago.

3 weeks ago | robertsietsema.substack.com | Robert Sietsema

You won’t be surprised to learn that everything I eat doesn’t make it into a review, round-up, or trend piece. In fact, many of the best things occur in random meals in places I dashed into on a whim. Here are best things I’ve eaten since the last edition of this column. The dish that most perfectly defines Moroccan cuisine is this chicken tajine. It’s traditionally slow-cooked in a vessel with a conical ceramic lid that seals in flavors.

3 weeks ago | robertsietsema.substack.com | Robert Sietsema

Danny & Coop’s phenomenal cheesesteakFor most of the week, the narrow storefront at 151 Avenue A, right across the street from Tompkins Square Park, lies empty. Curious customers cup their hands around their eyes as they lean forward to look in the window.