2.5 Stars for Ming Tsai's Blue Dragon; Sterling's Panned

Two recently opened Boston establishments were reviewed this week: Ming Tsai's Fort Point venture, Blue Dragon, and the Glynn Group's Sterling's in the Financial District. Writing for the Globe, Katie Johnston says "the service, like the food, is all over the place," but more of it falls into place than not as she assigns Tsai's first Boston establishment 2.5 stars. Among the food standouts is a "phallic-looking" crispy pig tail that "is sticky, sweet, and slow-cooked, served with mango sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf." Neither a fan of the no-reservation policy (her party of six had a three hour wait one busy Saturday evening) or the lone dessert (which would have been "a perfectly fine end to a meal at Applebee's,") the cocktail program, including its "Thai basil smash [that] tastes like lemony ginger beer, without a trace of the basil-infused rye it's mixed with" appears to save the day. [BG]

In the Metro, Luke O'Neil did not have a very good time at new Glynn Group (Dillon's, Clerys, Granary Tavern, etc.) property, Sterling's. The "small but sophisticated feeling room, with views overlooking Quincy Market," is meant to evoke the Mad Men 60s with drinks such as the Mad Men Mule and Ginger Joan, but manages to fall woefully short in his eyes. After seeing another patron return an Old Fashioned, calling it "horrible," O'Neil ordered one of his own and concurred. It "somehow tasted bitter, brothy, and savory at the same time." A Manhattan -- a stirred drink -- "was shaken to within an inch of its life." [Metro]

First time restaurateur Ellen Carter's Sweet Peach Diner is visited by the Globe's Cheap Eats column this week. Glenn Yoder had mixed experiences across the menu of the breakfast and lunch spot that opened last July. Disappointed by both a banana bread french toast ("not as delicious as it should be") and a southwestern burrito ("more of a wrap"), Yoder had better luck with Southern influenced dishes like a fried green tomato benedict and the fried chicken and waffles. [BG]

For his Boston Magazine Night Owl column, Richard Chudy heads to Allston's Deep Ellum. He has a mixed experience with the food, finding a lack of "special nuance" in a poutine that "manage(s) to keep the fries crispy" but is dominated by too much rosemary. A root beer braised pork belly appetizer at $10 turns out to be a great value and the accompanying "apple puree is the unofficial star of the dish" though he wishes the pork were more tender. Chuddy is willing to forgive missteps in the food though, because "the constantly rotating beers on tap at Deep Ellum are about as good as it gets in the city." [BM]

-Drew Starr