Middle School Food Critic

Tiled blue walls lighted from the inside surrounded me as I walked through the door of John Dory. Asking to sit down without my guest was considered rude, but I did it anyway. Surveying the small, but cozy place I noticed that each table had a red candle and there was a very large fish tank smack in the middle. As my guest arrived we were welcomed by our waitress with a bottle of seltzer. The restaurant said they were very proud to inform us that this bubbly water was called Natura and was made eco friendly by them. Instead of bread the restaurant plopped a small dish with crispy plantains and fresh smoked fish. The fish had a certain taste that almost made you feel as though you were in the ocean. Our waitress, a nice woman, kept cracking little jokes and explained the dishes so thoughtfully it made you feel like she really wanted you to enjoy the meal.

Thoughtful consideration was necessary at John Dory, because of all the delicious sounding dishes. We decided on Dungeness crab, Grilled Octopus, Jensen’s Temptation, Yellowtail, Fresh Diver Scallops and….. Fish Soup. The first to come was the octopus with parsley, fennel, celery and lemon juice. One bite of this intense dish and I was blown away into another world. Soft tender octopus world grilled to satisfaction with crisp burnt tips on the octopus. Next to come in our John Dory experience was the scallops from the raw bar. Who knows where the idea of sliced scallops with pomegranates and lemon juice came from, but it was a brilliant idea and was executed nicely. Kompatchi cod a fish, which I had never heard of, came along next. Cooled and firm this dish was a key example of this restaurant’s knack of getting good fish. Next came a good looking fish soup. After awhile the soup had thrown so many flavors at me from peppery to sweet that I decided  I had one piece of criticism: this soup was too intense!  A fish soup should be a simple broth with good fish.

After all the little teasers, out came the main attraction. Dungeness crab. Huge crab legs towered on a small plate with home roasted pure black pepper in every little crack of the crab. One look and I knew this was going to be a messy dish. Hmm… not amazing. The crab itself was delicious, but the way it was presented did not fit the theme or décor of John Dory. It was almost not worth the time and mess to get such little crab. The meat itself was so thickly covered in pepper that it was almost inedible. Across the table was the steak. Cooked rarely the steak made a good impression on me. Good to see a little meat in this seafood dominating restaurant. A quality of meat at satisfaction was what you’ll find in this steak not spectacular, but mediocre. Part way through our entrées we received the Jensen’s Temptation. Slices of potatoes with melted onions and cheese to top it off this was a fabulous dish. Devouring it in a split second we awaited dessert.

The John Dory Sunday was the main dessert, coming with hot fudge on top of vanilla ice cream with homemade candies. Real ice cream entered my mouth not the softie stuff, but creamy ice cream pushed back by bitter hot fudge.

. With my tummy bulging we walked out full, feeling like we were still traveling through a wondrous, wavy, ocean experience.

List of fish.

Back To Top

~ by David Fishman on June 11, 2009.

Posted in Restaurant Reviews
Tags: John Dory, NYC John Dory