The Other Critics

Get Your Chips for Free at El Centro; Locke-Ober’s on Life Support

• At the South End’s new Mexican charmer, El Centro, chips are $5 — but free if you look surprised. “Plump” shrimp grace chipotle sauce; house-made flour tortillas are “impressive.” The prices reflect the neighborhood, but “good, fresh ingredients” and a neighborhood monopoly on the genre justify the splurge. [Globe]

• Corby Kummer thinks Locke-Ober is still “is on life support,” despite a recent face-lift. The depressing review laments its “dead-waiters-walking” feel and food that rarely rises beyond “proficient club fare.” Final verdict? It’s a “listless sleeping beauty.” [Boston]

• Devra First previews Blue Inc., where Jason Santos combines “eclectic influences and a soupcon of molecular gastronomy.” Calamari spaghetti is “incredible”; wacky cocktails (second rounds of the Anorexic Model, anyone?) show little restraint. [Globe]

• Davis Square’s Posto gets four stars from Robert Nadeau, who’s determined to let readers know just how fantastic this under-the-radar spot really is. Get the crisp calamari: “glorious, hot, and all over in a few minutes.” Smoked rabbit pappardelle, meanwhile, boasts a “delicate broth” and “gently smoked” meat. [Phoenix]

• MC Slim JB unearths Jasmine Taste of Persia, tucked away in Watertown. Thanks to him, we know what we’ll be eating this weekend: Adas polo, complete with a “fragrant pilaf of basmati, lentils, golden raisins, and sautéed onions, faintly tangy with yogurt, crowned with two groaning skewers of gorgeously saffron-tinted chicken-breast kebabs.” [Phoenix]

Get Your Chips for Free at El Centro; Locke-Ober’s on Life Support