9 Park I can breathe a little easier now. Barbara Lynch's No. Soon after the restaurant opened in mid-July, I made a first visit.
Anticipation is a funny thing, though.
At that first visit, the appetizers sparkled - a seared scallop over creamy corn over potato cake, a gutsy beet salad molded into a tower with assertive blue cheese at the bottom, a simple mesclun salad graced with herbs. But the wait for those had been lengthy and the stretch before main courses arrived was excruciating. When the entrees came, the fish dishes were fine, but not breathtakingly good, not at all what Lynch can do. A second visit went more smoothly, the courses flowing at the proper pace, the room looking interesting rather than austere. Duck ham, cured at the restaurant, with foie gras and onion marmalade, was all salty, robust delights.