Wednesday Food News: Early Edition

This week in the Times, Bruni visits the Four Seasons, awards it two stars. Says, "The standouts on the menu aren’t as numerous as they should be. The signs of a restaurant that runs on two tracks--one for the anonymous, another for the anointed--are too obvious." The restaurant had previously received three stars from Ruth Reichl in 1995. But Bruni also finds a "stubborn magic" still there: in the architecture, the history, and the insider atmosphere.

And Peter Meehan goes to Temple Canteen for $25 and Under. Located in the basement of the Hindu Temple Society in Flushing, the restaurant is open to anyone. Meehan loves the dosas, especially the ghee roast ("death-by-dairy calories," he says). Other dishes are more hit or miss, but nothing costs more than $5.50.

In the Post, Cuozzo talks to Wayne Nish, who is taking over the kitchen at Varietal. The former executive chef and pastry chef both left last week, and Nish is planning a $48 three-course menu for the restaurant. Which may in fact be on the market--according to Cuozzo's sources, it’s for sale; Nish denies.

Ryan Sutton visits Tasca and Central Kitchen for Bloomberg News. Located next door to one another, both are owned and operated by chef Craig Wilson. Sutton doesn’t much like the tapas at Tasca, but likes everything he finds at the just-opened Central Kitchen--food, service and atmosphere.

Paul Adams goes to E.U. for the NY Sun. Finds that the trouble-plagued restaurant, which has struggled to get a liquor license and find the right chef (it’s currently on #5), may have finally hit its stride. "The chef is skillful," says Adams, "and within the studiously stylish lines of AvroKo's pubby interior design, every piece fits together."