John Tesar’s New Restaurant Gets One Star from New York Times

Posted on May 6th, 2009 11:17am by Sarah Eveans
Filed under Chefs, Restaurant 101

Former Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek chef John Tesar relocated to New York in March to work at David Burke’s Fishtail restaurant. Today, the New York Times‘ Frank Bruni reviews it and gives it one star. Tesar is only mentioned once:

But under the first executive chef, Eric Hara, and under his successor, John Tesar, the kitchen turned out plenty of clunkers: mealy octopus; a lobster carbonara with bits of bacon as hard as pellets; tough prawns arranged prettily but pointlessly over the gluiest, saddest, blandest little pesto ravioli you can imagine.

But it’s not all bad. Bruni mentions several things he likes about Fishtail, including the fillet of halibut, the mussels, a Scottish langoustine special, and a “can o’ cake,” a dessert that comes with a cake batter-covered mixing bowl and paddles (yum). He also says David Burke produced a restaurant “with some real charms, among them its smooth, upbeat service and an attractive, comfortable setting in an Upper East Side town house.” Read the whole thing here.

9 comments

  1. 5 stars in Dallas equal 1 star in New York City?

    @ 11:26 am on May 6, 2009

  2. I don’t understand the can o’ cake. Can someone describe this?

    @ 11:52 am on May 6, 2009

  3. One star in the NY Times means “good” but it’s still a slap in the face for the restaurant and the chef. From what I read, that restaurant is more casual and down scale than the Mansion. The service accounts for a lot I think. The reviewer complained about dirty plates and sometimes not good service. I doubt you’d ever have that experience at the mansion, where the service is really good but people sometimes have “off” nights.

    @ 3:02 pm on May 6, 2009

  4. Maddie gets it.

    @ 3:28 pm on May 6, 2009

  5. The only comment about service is where Bruni calls it smooth and upbeat. He doesn’t say anything at all about “dirty plates.” He loved the restaurant’s interior.

    Bruni’s complaints were all about the food. Maybe Tesar gets a pass because he joined in midstream or because Burke is replacing Tesar’s more subtle, classic style with his own tacky theatrics. But the food was the issue. If you have any doubt about that, listen to the audio slideshow and feel Bruni’s contempt.

    One star means “good,” but 230 restaurants have 2 stars or better from the Times, many of them moderately priced and casual. Welcome to the big pond, little fish.

    @ 4:18 pm on May 6, 2009

  6. I’m offended. Like Dallas is chopped liver?Eff NY. They can kiss my Dallas a** and smack my dirty mouth(but please don’t muss the hair-the bigger the hair the closer to Baby Jesus)

    Nobody puts Johhny in a corner. Nobody!

    @ 4:46 pm on May 6, 2009

  7. We all know Tesar is a stellar seafood chef just read Nancy’s reviews or John Mariani for that matter. Tesar has been there two months. Fishtail opened several months ago. The review clearly implies that David Burke though a nationally lauded chef/restaurateur likes to play with his food. Tesar has always kept his dishes, clean, simple allow the natural flavors to come through. I’ve never known the man to cover anything with Pretzels…

    @ 6:43 pm on May 6, 2009

  8. Miller’s right. I’ve been to the Mansion on Tesar’s watch more than a dozen times. Main room, chef’s room, brunch, tasting menus, a la carte. The descriptions of the dishes at Fishtail sound a world apart from what Tesar did when he had a free hand at the Mansion (which was more in the La Bernardin vein). Burke needs to step the hell back and let Tesar do his thing. If he doesn’t, Tesar needs to get out of there and back into his own kitchen so he isn’t being held back.

    @ 7:06 pm on May 6, 2009

  9. HC….. Tesar’s dishes are straight out of Le Bernardin, read the Le Bernardin cook book. Second, Tesar did put those dishes on the menu at Fishtail. Check out old Mansion menus and the menu at Fishtail. King crab with garlic butter, from the mansion, along with the lobster ravioli.

    @ 12:01 pm on May 20, 2009