Wednesday Food News: Early Edition

This week in the Times, Bruni revisits Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak, upgrades the restaurant from one star to two. He says, "The improvement in the steaks has made it easier to appreciate the restaurant's other virtues… the unassailable quality of its raw bar selections; its gigantic, crunchy onion rings, some of the best in the city; its fried bone marrow appetizer, a decadence-squared dream." He still thinks the menu is overcrowded, though, and doesn't like the way they age the steaks. Bruni also visits Craftbar, about which he's less enthusiastic. He awards the restaurant one star, finding the atmosphere "grim" and that "much of the food lacked personality."

Bruni also takes a trip to L.A. and writes up his visit to Pizzeria Mozza for Critic’s Notebook. Intended to be the side restaurant to Mozza, which still hasn’t opened, the Nancy Silverton-Mario Batali venture has exploded. The L.A. Tiimes gave the pizzeria three stars. Bruni says, "Pizzeria Mozza is, when you add all of its components together, a serious and impressive restaurant in its own right."

Alan Richman goes to Wild Salmon for Bloomberg News. The new Jeffrey Chodorow restaurant is meant to be a Pacific Northwest Brasserie; all the fish is flown in from there. Richman says that if he were Frank Bruni, he'd award the restaurant one star (loves the starters, doesn't like the sauces, the service, or the atmosphere). After the Bruni/Chodorow Kobe Club dustup, we'll be looking forward to that review too. If they let him in.

And in the NY Sun, Paul Adams visits Moroccan Azza. Says the food is decent, but "enjoying it can be a challenge amid hurdles such as awkward low-slung seats, glacial waits, and a general sense that the entire staff, except for one outstandingly sharp and helpful busboy, would rather be relaxing with a hookah." Heh.