"One of the cuisines hardest to get right in NYC is the Cajun and Creole cooking of New Orleans. Alligator Pear made an attempt when it opened this year, but there were several notable failures, including a fried catfish so thickly crusted with blue cornmeal that it had to be pounded to get at the flesh. But even worse were fresh oysters thickly coated with garlic and cheese, at five bucks a pop. What a horrifying thing to do to an oyster!" - Robert Sietsema