My review of Nightwood now out in the Reader.

This wasn’t as hard as the Publican blurb, but it was close. There’s such a temptation, in assessing  ridiculously high-profile spots like this, to be contrarian, to pick at every nit. No writer wants to be seen as a sheep, or a shill. 

And yet — it was really good. Really, really good. This crew obviously knows what they’re doing, both in the kitchen and on the conceptual level. I think the space is beautiful and almost without fail the food totally delivered.

But, in the name of picking nits, I’ll add one more thing. The other night some friends had a more mixed Nightwood experience, in part thanks to a server who appeared totally mystified by the wine list. (When pressed, she apparently dug out her notes from a wine tasting and tried to make a recommendation based on those.) They didn’t really care, that much — at least she got an “A” for effort. But this story reminded me of my server, who, when pressed, could only describe every wine as “food friendly.”

Which is pretty silly when you think about it in the context of a wine list meant to be served … with food. Where’s the wine on that list that *doesn’t* go with food?

So, yo, Nightwood servers: Stop calling the wine “food friendly!” Not helpful!

Otherwise, truly delicious.