New York Magazine
Bad Kitty: The Lion, the city's newest faux speakeasy, is a pale imitation of its predecessors.
The Lion serves its own $18 "Special Blend" burger garnished, disastrously, with a flabby chunk of fried pork belly. There are several French-accented bistro dishes (white asparagus with hollandaise, a decent slab of foie gras, a dreckish lobster bisque that looks like it just emerged from the Automat), and several cuts of beef. The first one we sampled was the $98 rib eye for two. We specified medium rare, but the beef was purple. When it returned from the kitchen, it was burned to a greasy crisp.
The cannelloni (a conspicuous play on the popular truffled macaroni and cheese at the Waverly) has mercifully disappeared, and the grim lobster bisque has been replaced with a smooth, seasonal corn soup flavored, not unpleasantly, with creme fraiche and more truffles. But the appetizer of artichoke fritters tasted more of potatoes than artichokes, the baby beets in my baby-beet salad were slightly mushy, and the sticky yellowfin-tuna tartare had no real tuna taste at all.
OPEN for DISCUSSION
What I find interesting about these two excerpts from writer Adam Platt's article is that he characterizes the food he sampled at The Lion and he introduces new words (at least ones I've never heard of before) like, "dreckish", a slang term used to describe trash/rubbish, and "Automat", a fast food restaurant where simple foods and drink are served by coin-operated and bill-operated vending machines. Did you know automats have been around in the U.S. since the 1900s? The first automat in the U.S. was open June 12, 1902. Anyhow, those ingredients positioned throughout his article make it sound fresh and interesting!
Example of an excellent characterization: "When it returned from the kitchen, it was burned to a greasy crisp." It reads like the beef walked out of the kitchen itself versus a waiter/waitress bringing it out to him. But I can picture the beef making its way back to the table fuming along the way. And I can basically taste those "slightly mushy" beets and visualize the expression on his face as he AND his taste buds experienced each dish. Overall, well written...by the way, I will NOT be dining at The Lion restaurant any time soon.
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