New and Underhyped

by Josh Ozersky - Citysearch Editor - 170 Reviews - 49 Lists

Updated: October 22, 2008

With all the hype, the multi-starred reviews, and blogosphere bloviation, a few very good New York restaurants fall between the cracks every year. Here are my current top five.

You May Have Missed Them

  1. 1 4 Star Rating: Recommended Elettaria--CLOSED
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    33 W 8th St, New York, NY 10011 (map)

    Former Craftbar and E.U. chef Akhtar Nawab finally got to create his own restaurant, and the result has been imaginative, well-executed fusion dishes powered by Greenmarket ingredients. The drink program is rock solid, too, and the space too cool for the strange block it's on.

  2. 2 5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended Tet Restaurant
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    83 Ave A, New York, NY 10009 (map)

    Having won over New York with Nam and O Mai, Steven Duong has his best restaurant yet in this Avenue A eatery, which brings a polished and accomplished traditional Vietnamese menu to an area packed with poseurs.

  3. 3 4.5 Star Rating: Recommended The Harrison
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    355 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013 (map)

    While the overall mood and room is still the same, the menu overhaul by former Gusto chef Amanda Freitag deserves a special trip downtown, if only for her amazing duck-fat fries and an English-cut lamb loin that might be the best chop around.

  4. 4 5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended Cabrito
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    50 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014 (map)

    Although he's not technically involved, the plump hand prints of meaty chef Zak Pelaccio are all over this project from the owner of 5 Ninth and Fatty Crab. There's fantastic pork belly tacos, the goat is stellar, and the beer is cold. Boy is it noisy, though.

  5. 5 4 Star Rating: Recommended Commerce
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    50 Commerce St, New York, NY 10014 (map)

    Chef Harold Moore, formerly of Montrachet, has somehow managed to cram a high-powered and ambitious French-American menu into a tiny, crowded space with barely enough room for the world-class chicken for two.