Review Recap: Tanoreen

Today’s review of Tanoreen turned out just as we expected: an enthusiastic singleton from Sam Sifton in the Times:

Ms. Bishara’s translation of Middle Eastern cooking has Mediterranean accents, and occasional North American ones from her decades in the United States. And so the tang of cilantro enlivens some of her dishes, and the musk of basil, the welcome zing of jalapeño.

In the opposite direction, she makes a simple spiced roast chicken with potatoes (and, for children, a mean plate of fried chicken fingers with French fries and ketchup), and a stuffed cabbage that your Uncle Murray who only eats tuna salad would devour.

Tanoreen’s entrees are, in the main, less successful than the appetizers. Partly this is because the food doesn’t support the division of a meal into the Western tradition of starter and main course. After four or five delicious small plates, it’s difficult to do battle with a gristly lamb shank or one-acre lot of shepherd’s pie.

We win $3 on our hypothetical one dollar bet. Eater, which thought that two stars was the more likely outcome, loses a dollar. 

	Eater		NYJ
Bankroll	$8.00		$16.00
Gain/Loss	–1.00		+3.00
Total	$7.00		$19.00
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Won–Lost	7–8 (46.7%)		9–6 (60.0%)

Life-to-date, New York Journal is 79–33 (71%).

Review Preview: Tanoreen

Tomorrow, Sam Sifton reviews the Bay Ridge Middle Eastern restaurant Tanoreen. The Eater oddsmakers have set the action as follows: Goose Egg: 100–1; One Star: 3–1; Two Stars: 2–1; Three Stars: 50–1.

In 2004, Tanoreen got a rave review from Eric Asimov in $25 & Under (those were the days when that column reviewed real restaurants). Recently, it moved to a bigger space. It now has a bar and takes reservations.

We haven’t been to Tanoreen, but it strikes us as the quintessential outer-borough one-star place—at least according to the grading curve Sifton has adopted since he took over from Frank Bruni last fall.

So we will bet on one star for Tanoreen.