Subject: Bruni

BarBao got one star, but he seems to like it better than West Branch:

A Climate That Favors Comfort

By FRANK BRUNI

Published: January 14, 2009

THE West Branch and BarBao opened only about a week and half a dozen blocks apart in late October.

Over the next months I never ate dinner at the West Branch when it wasn’t packed.

BarBao, on the other hand, had more empty seats than full ones.

A fluke of the nights I went? Maybe. But I get the strong sense that one of these Upper West Side newcomers is faring appreciably better than the other. And I think the discrepancy may say a lot about which types of restaurants this cruel economy is going to be kinder to, which are in for a less merciful and less certain run, and the fact that quality isn’t necessarily the chief determinant.

Both the West Branch, a mostly Mediterranean brasserie, and BarBao, which interprets Vietnamese cuisine, deserve to make it. While their kitchens aren’t consistent enough or their menus quite original enough to brand them destination restaurants, they have real talent in their DNA and bring serious food to a patch of Manhattan that, for all its recent strides, could still use more of it. At a different moment, in a different climate, both could probably count on success.

"I’m not looking for some fancy presentations or extraordinarily subtle flavors," Mr. Obama said, defining his epicurean bent. "What I’m looking for is food that tastes good for a good price."

That’s a sensibility perhaps better fed by the West Branch than by BarBao, even though BarBao’s cooking is more exciting and slightly more memorable.

An offshoot of the beloved Upper West Side restaurant Ouest, the West Branch has a ready-made clientele in all the grateful diners who consider the chef Tom Valenti, who runs both establishments, a hero for improving their ZIP code’s culinary lot.

It maintains Mr. Valenti’s Franco-Italo inclinations and meaty preoccupations while adjusting to a miserable economy by having lower prices than Ouest’s. About half the entrees are less than $20.

It also has a looser spirit, symbolized by a large TV playing sports events over the front bar. Beyond the bar are a series of rooms that look instantly weathered and utterly familiar, the dark woods, dark booths and distressed mirrors straight out of the pub-cum-brasserie playbook.

Approachability is the guiding ethos, manifest as well in raw bar selections, crowd-pleasing salads (Caesar, frisée aux lardons, beets with goat cheese), starchy sides (including, of course, fries) and an overall collection of dishes with an emphasis on comfort foods from the past and present.

This emphasis tugs the menu beyond the Mediterranean: for example, to Britain (for an excellent fish and chips) and to the Caribbean (for an even better Cuban pork sandwich).

Like Secession most recently, the West Branch opens up the brasserie format to Italy, taking advantage of the popularity (and affordability) of pasta by putting a half dozen such dishes into play. Only two delighted me, the squash and ham tortelli and the shrimp raviolini.

Unevenness plagued the whole menu. Among the appetizers a gorgeous lobster salad kept company with an undersauced vitello tonnato, and superb steak tartare was dragged down by insipid duck liver mousse.

I enjoyed the choucroute garni that accompanied (and rhymed with!) duck confit and the potato salad with the fried quail. But the star of each of those entrees gave the least commanding performance.

Opt instead for the hearty veal stew or the calf’s liver. Know that there are many red wines in the $50-a-bottle range to go with either and that you can finish the night with a generous cookie plate for just $7.

Although hardly anonymous, Mr. Huynh has a lower profile than Mr. Valenti and doesn’t have Mr. Valenti’s traction in this part of town. He’s also working in a genre less immediately recognizable to his audience.

Sizzling cuttlefish? Daikon duck hash? A diner spotting these on the menu may not be sure what’s in store. And that, coupled with glossy good looks that may tag BarBao as more of a splurge than it is, probably works to its disadvantage.

Although the wine list is a bit too expensive and the specialty cocktails a bit too sweet, the food at BarBao is more ambitious and nuanced than at the West Branch, and it reflects Mr. Huynh’s gift for refracting Asian conceits and ingredients through a contemporary prism.

The duck hash, combining cubes of rice cake with shredded duck confit and a poached egg, has one foot in the Far East and the other in fatty, gut-busting Momofuku Manhattan. The cuttlefish defers cunningly to many New York diners’ Mediterranean sensibilities by coming up with a version of salsa verde that adds Vietnamese mint, Thai basil and yuzu to anchovy.

The argument for BarBao is undercut somewhat by Mr. Huynh’s readiness to repeat himself. He has been cooking more than a few of these dishes, or close approximations, for years.

And in the case of the iron pot chicken and the crispy whole red snapper, which was overcooked, he has done them better.

But I suspect it’s not dry fish but rather larger forces that are keeping diners away. Although BarBao could certainly improve, it deserves more attention and affection than it’s getting.

BarBao

★

100 West 82nd Street (Columbus Avenue), (212) 501-0776.

ATMOSPHERE The spacious rooms that were once the restaurant Rain have been redecorated in a plusher, more elegant vein.

SOUND LEVEL Moderate when not crowded.

RECOMMENDED DISHES Daikon duck hash; sizzling cuttlefish; spicy beef salad; beef cheeks with pandan parsnip purée; black cod with sweet pepper stew; loup de mer with green curry; vermicelli with pork belly and shrimp; yucca waffle; mocha bread pudding.

WINE LIST Succinct, varied and international, but with fewer bottles less than $60 than there should be.

PRICE RANGE Appetizers and noodle dishes, $8 to $14; entrees, $16 to $27; desserts, $8.

HOURS From 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday; from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday and to 2 a.m. Friday; from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday. Special bar menu after 11 p.m.

RESERVATIONS Call at least three days ahead for prime times.

CREDIT CARDS All major.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS Ramp available for steps to entrance; dining room and accessible restroom on one level.

The West Branch

2178 Broadway (77th Street), (212) 777-6764.

ATMOSPHERE A loose, festive, contemporary brasserie.

SOUND LEVEL Achingly noisy in spots.

RECOMMENDED DISHES Lobster salad; steak tartare; Cuban pork sandwich; shrimp raviolini; squash tortelli; duck gizzards and hearts; fish and chips; veal stew; white beans and sausage; coconut "blanc mangèr"; assorted cookie plate.

WINE LIST International, accessibly priced and suited to the menu.

PRICE RANGE Appetizers and salads, $6 to $17; entrees, $15 to $29; desserts, $7 to $9.

HOURS From 5 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, to midnight Friday and Saturday and to 10 p.m. Sunday.

RESERVATIONS Call at least a week ahead for prime times.

CREDIT CARDS All major.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS Separate entrance on 77th Street; dining rooms and accessible restroom on one level.

WHAT THE STARS MEAN Ratings range from zero to four stars and reflect the reviewer’s reaction to food, ambience and service, with price taken into consideration. Menu listings and prices are subject to change.