New York City: "Hell with Good Restaurants"

Or... perhaps... not so good after all.

LE Cirque owner Sirio Maccioni doesn't forget an insult. Heading the restaurateur's list is former New York Times restaurant critic William Grimes, who trashed his sons' Osteria del Circo in January 2002. The one-star review described the rack of lamb as having "all the appeal of a gnarled tree stump" and the osso buco as "a slick, glutinous mass, with surprisingly untender meat concealed within." Interviewed yesterday by Women's Wear Daily on the 30th anniversary of Le Cirque, Maccioni hissed, "When a reviewer has an ugly wife, he can never be very good." Grimes told PAGE SIX's Ian Spiegelman, "It's a contemptible comment, regardless of who he was referring to. I thought he was a gentleman." Maccioni, presumably referring to Le Cirque, also complained: "The New York Times came in and took a star away, then the next year they gave it back." Grimes said he couldn't be the critic in question since, "I took the star away and it has not been given back." Nor could it be Grimes because, "Objectively, my wife is very attractive."

From: Page Six

"Hey, there's always room for "a slick, glutinous mass!"

[Warning: Suckupathon follows -- "More shots of fine food like this can be had by browsing Lileks' Gallery of Regrettable Food and you can even get his wonderful, life-enhancing and stunningly brilliant book of the same title right HERE. Buy one for yourself, one for the little lady, one for your master and one for your dame and ... hell, just buy a couple of cases of this mighty fine and tasty book and hand them out at random on the street."]

Posted by Vanderleun at January 6, 2004 4:56 PM