PX This.

PX This presents THE F&F REVIEW

Hey, sorry we couldn’t make it to "Friends&Family," we were out of town/ had to work/ not invited. We’re really glad we finally managed to come by, though— it’s so nice to see you!
What’s that? You would still like us to take the time to fill out the F&F survey, because you’d love to take advantage of all our vast experience, knowledge, insight, and expertise as long as we’re already here? Because you invited 75 people to F&F, and afterward all you got was 41 "Congrats[es]!" 22 "Awesome[s]!" 3 "Ciao[s]!" and 9 "Best of lucks[s]!" ?
Of course, we’d be honored. Oh ha, yesss, we’ll be honest— brutally honest even, ha ha! After all, that’s what friends & family are for!
No no please, don’t send anything more, we’re stuffed, we can’t breathe, you’ll have to roll us out of here, ha ha ha… !

Kenmare

What was your first impression?
well it certainly looks like a "real" restaurant ?

Please rate the Bar:
good. spacious, clean, comfortable. and the bartenders seem very good too— but okay, in all honesty, we did get "made" as soon as we walked through the door, so you know how that is.

Please rate the drinks/ cocktails/ wine:
fine. brief, but eclectic enough. purposeful— in a way. umm… a decidedly "west village/soho" way actually, is what i’m kinda tempted to say. but of course, this isn’t exactly the west village or soho. but i guess that’s besides the point anyways. right?

Please rate the Dining Room:
nice. purposeful— in a way. umm… a decidedly "west village/soho" way actually, is what i’m kinda tempted to say. but of course, this isn’t exactly the west village or soho. but i guess that’s besides the point anyways. right?

Please rate the BOH:
better than i expected. oh who am i kidding— much better than i’d expected, especially considering i’ve been hearing some pretty awful things; one person even went so far as to call it "inedible." and i also heard another party on a different night waited a lifetime for food but still left unfed and starving.
but we didn’t experience any of those things. everyone (and everything) is quite professional as a matter of fact, so i guess whatever happened during Kenmare’s brief hiatus is evidently all for the best.

How was the staff?
great! it’s everybody you already know, so what’s not to love about that?

What did you eat?/ How was the food?
i tried damned near every appetizer on the menu, two side dishes, the rice pudding "arancini," and the dulce de leche layer cake. and everything was very good. even the The Little Owl meatball slider— which, for some reason, in my experience, wasn’t as good at theLittleOwl, but is perfectly satisfactory here.
the food is simple (the desserts are bit more elaborate) but well-prepared. fresh and clean, without a lot of fancy fuss or overbearing sauces/spices. the lobster&shrimp spagehtti "fra diavolo" was my favorite of all. the sardine fillet was also quite appealing, although i’m not so sure why there’s all this fascination with cauliflower on this menu (to each his own i guess). oh and the pickled cucumbers and radishes are really delicious.
i did, however, intentionally steer clear of the "inedible" tuna carpaccio— and when i saw it land in front of a customer two seats over, i’m kinda glad i did. i’m just sayin.

What did you like?
i guess everything, but especially the staff. i hope everybody appreciates the effort even a fraction as much as i do. and the bathroom wall tiles are so beautiful.

What did you dislike?
wellll uhh ugh… truth be told— i’m maybe not quite feelin Kenmare’s umm PR tactics? if this is really truly supposed to be a "real" restaurant, then God bless them and best of luck. i hope they keep it real, because the Beatrice/Waverly wannabee shit is just sooo tired already. and no, i’m not just saying that because i "can’t get in," jackasses. i’m saying that because the SHIT IS FUCKING TIRED. i swear i have never before heard of a restaurant more universally reviled before the first "official" dinner has even landed on a fucking plate. and in this city, that’s really saying a lot.
so i guess what i’m sayin is: i hope i didn’t just waste all this time and energy lauding a restaurant that turns out eventually to not even be a fucking restaurant. christ.

What was your last impression?
oh yah. i guess: see above.

Would you come back?
oh fucking hell. i don’t know. if i "can get in" i guess ?

Thank you, and hope to see you soon!
thank you. it was lovely. really truly, we enjoyed it very much.
sigh— but what can i say. except: welcome to PX This, sweetie. we’re not like The New York Post; we’re too sexy for your hype.

**See also (earlier):

• Kenmare (née Civetta) – UPDATE
• Civetta Closing – "New Concept" to Come
• MORE on Sevigny & Khan…

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