Two Critics Praise Red Bird; Pigtrip Visits Rosebud; More

In today's Boston Globe review, Devra First sings the praises of new Waltham restaurant Red Bird, noting that "Franklin [Cafe] alum chef Daniel Stokes does for Waltham what the Franklin did for the South End years ago." She offers a first look inside its space:

At the back of the room, beneath a sculpture of a cardinal perching on a silver branch, is a small kitchen closed in with glass panes, a window into just what a wild endeavor it is to run a restaurant. Inside, chefs move like human pistons. From the nearby restroom, one can hear the terse patter of the expediter, attempting to get dinners to tables. The hard work of cooking easy, tasty food for a crowd is on display. When it takes a long time for dishes to arrive, one feels sympathy as well as hunger.

She ends by saying that when it does arrive, "it is worth the wait."

Likewise, The Improper Bostonian's MC Slim JB offers high praise to Red Bird's original cocktails and "tightly curated beer list" at the bar, also noting a wine list that "boasts 20 wines by the glass."

Of the menu, he says that "Stokes' gifts are clearest when he's working the French idiom," praising the French onion soup and a pan-roasted chicken breast that "shows real technique, managing the rare achievement of moist breast meat with brownly crisped skin, classically arrayed with rapini, new potatoes and cipollini onions in a superb sherry-mustard pan jus." Elsewhere he notes that "larger pasta portions are similarly hearty and deep-flavored."

In all, he concludes that "from its perch on busy Moody Street, Red Bird ultimately takes flight as the kind of neighborhood place every neighborhood needs more of: a good, versatile bar paired with a serious kitchen, offering everyday prices in a handsome, comfy package — a useful American reinvention of the European bistro."

For the Globe, Ellen Bhang stops in at WooRi Korean Fusion Grill in Arlington Center. "The space is cheerful," Bhang writes, before going on to sample and recommend  their  "love fries" (Korean style fries), as well as, "crispy potato balls, SSF crispy dumplings, bibimbap, soft tofu stew, pork cutlet, pork belly with sesame leaf wraps."

Rosebud American Kitchen & Bar drew dedicated blogger Pigtrip out to Somerville to find that "while smoke is used in numerous dishes, this isn't your Daddy's barbecue menu. There are no 2- or 3-meat combos. Instead of in a predictable sandwich, pork shoulder accompanies Sichuan style string beans. Brisket is in a sandwich, and only in a sandwich, but it's hardly predictable." In the end, the conclusion was:

"Rosebud has its share of ups and downs, but more of the former. And while the valleys are mostly shallow, the peaks can run quite high. Whether you want to call it barbecue or not, Rosebud is the most exciting thing to happen to Boston barbecue in a while."