This Review of New York City's Frog Club Will Make Your Day
This Review of New York City's Frog Club Will Make Your Day
Food is an exciting subject — after all, who doesn’t love to eat a fantastic meal surrounded by friends and family or find some tiny food truck selling mouth-watering street food. But, sometimes reviews can be….a little stoic.
Every once in a while, someone writes a review so funny that it makes one snort their morning coffee out their nose.
The most infamous review is, of course, Pete Wells’ 2012 takedown of Guy's American Kitchen & Bar for the New York Times. In that pitch-perfect review, Wells fashions his musings as an open letter to Guy Fieri, crafting the classic and unforgettable phrase, “And when we hear the words Donkey Sauce, which part of the donkey are we supposed to think about?”
Topping Pete Wells is a feat but, the Infatuation might just be nipping at Wells’ heels with its review of Frog Club, the restaurant that calls itself, "The New Yorkiest Room in New York! TM” (yes — it really adds the trademark symbol after that phrase). The restaurant by chef Liz Johnson offers diners a frog-themed evening with drinks such as the Dirty Kermit ($26), a green tomato libation; and green tomato strings ($16).
If the frog theme sounds like an Instagrammable moment, think again: The most talked about thing regarding Frog Club isn’t the Tutti Frutti Spaghetti Sundae, it’s the no-photos policy. As you enter the restaurant, a bouncer places a sticker over your camera lens. Remove it and you’re asked to leave. There are also a ton of other ways to get 86’d — including kissing the chef without her consent. Perhaps she turns into a frog in this topsy turvy frog-infested world? So many questions.
This leaves us to the Infatuation’s Frog Club review, where author Bryan Kim gamely makes do without the requisite food porn by illustrating the review. Let’s just say Kim is less Rembrandt and more little Bobby from kindergarten art class.
The fun doesn’t end there. Kim describes his hit or miss meal with the relish of someone who relishes a really bad movie because of the fact it’s BAAAADDD! Take, for example, the chicken wings that, “leave you picking at bones that look as if they were donated by sparrows” or the spinach soufflé “NY NY”, which prompts Kim to ask, “What makes this “NY, NY” exactly? Is it the way the soufflé is as tough as our citizens? Or as petite as our apartments?”
KIm does find some grace in his meal, asking the musical question about the Frog Club’s lobster pierogies: “We're confused by how such delicate, buttery lobster and mascarpone-stuffed pierogies exist on the same menu as the wings and soufflé.” And that (also trademarked) Tutti Frutti Spaghetti Sundae"? According to Kim it, “looks like spaghetti, tastes like sherbet, with shaved white chocolate impersonating parm. This dessert is light and fun, although its looks are more than half the appeal.”
Honestly, if the Infatuation and Kim continue to do such fine writing (and even better illustrations), we might just find ourselves leaving our phones at home and sketching our meals instead.