The Other Critics

Schaffer Tells Rino’s Secret; Great Service at The Gallows

• Mat Schaffer gives Rino’s a B+, calling it “one of the city’s best-kept dining secrets.” [Herald]

• Devra First has two and a half stars for The Gallows, which “is predicated on service. Servers refold napkins when you get up from the table, pour your water before you realize you want it, and notice when, say, the steak in your salad is undercooked, taking the dish off the bill without a word from anyone at the table. It’s today’s version of old-fashioned hospitality. It’s tomorrow’s, too. For those who lament the faded bloom of formal dining, it’s useful to realize it may be just the trappings that have changed.” [Globe]

• Robert Nadeau bestows two stars on Hot Pot Buffet: “What Hot Pot Buffet gets, that all the other Asian do-it-yourself restaurants do not, is that this kind of eating is not about discernment. It’s a party.” [Phoenix]

• Cheap Eats drops by Vapiano, where the pizza is killer, but the pasta is still finding its wings. [Globe]

• MC Slim JB Daniel McCarthy pays a somewhat bemused visit to Allston’s UChef, which offers seemingly everything under the sun, but does it all pretty well. [Phoenix]

Schaffer Tells Rino’s Secret; Great Service at The Gallows