Garr Rates The Place Downstairs Almost Perfect

There is no indication in his LEO Weekly review that Robin Garr found any fault with The Place Downstairs, the latest restaurant from Fernando Martinez, Cristina Martinez and Yaniel Martinez.

Were there any rough spots in the road? Any problems, sputters or flaws? Any dishes less than outstanding? No, no, no, no and no. In a word, outstanding. From a surgically constructed bite-size amuse bouche of fingerling potato dressed with creme fraiche, pea sprout and pork crunchies to artful dessert plates, chocolate cremeux and key lime and Meyer lemon tart, we couldn't find a nit to pick.

Yet somehow it rates only 95 out of 100 magic Robin Garr points. The diminutive demerits were certainly not taken from the food, as Garr admits eating "way too much" is not a "legitimate complaint." He goes on to describe his enjoyment of Spanish octopus terrine, Iberico ham and a duck leg rillettes "jar"

filled with rich, deeply flavored duck confit, a paste of finely shredded duck meat and duck fat. It was accompanied by cornichons, grainy mustard and a tart-sweet cherry compote, with slices of grilled crusty baguette.

Garr gives great praise to the Martinez trio along with Chef de Cuisine Ethan Ray ("one of the city's top 'young chefs'") and host Rick Moir ("affable"), and says "by Derby, [The Place Downstairs] is likely to be one of the hottest tickets in town." He also enjoyed a couple of cocktails, including the Global Warming, which comes with a frozen chili pepper that "adds oomph as it warms and melts." [LEO Weekly]
· No 'I' in the winning t-e-a-m at The Place Downstairs [LEO Weekly]
· The Place Downstairs [Facebook]
· All Eater Week In Reviews [~ELOU~]