For his review this week, NY Times restaurant critic Pete Wells dropped by a NYC institution - Le Cirque. Guests are still likely to see legendary restaurateur Sirio Maccioni working the dining room, and the team behind the eatery is gearing up to open a branch of Sirio pretty soon in the Pierre Hotel (there's currently one in Vegas). Maybe it's because of all the other projects they have on tap, but Wells finds that the eatery has lost some of its luster. Cirque fans, brace yourselves: "The kitchen gave the impression that it had stopped reaching for excellence and possibly no longer remembered what that might mean."
Ouch. The critic does find something to like in the service and enjoys a few dishes, but finds the overall experience to be pricey. In the end, it's one star, down from three in 2008. You can read the full review here.
Pete Wells review was beautifully written. Completely off the mark, but picturesque. I was so appalled by his experiences that I went back two nights ago, just to make sure he wasn't right. He wasn't. If one doesn't like the type of food being served, that is one thing. If he was expecting tweezers and molecularity, then sure, he was to be disappointed. But that is not what there are doing here. His elegiac lament was not only unfair, it was erroneous, and partial. Expensive, yes... but lots of places are. Worth that expense? Why, every penny. Sirio has not lost his magic: Wells has lost his subjectivity.
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