This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Alto and L’Impero, both now run by chef Michael White (formerly of Fiamma Osteria). He finds Alto “better than ever” and bumps it up from two stars to three. “Alto is now a full throttle dining experience, no matter where on the menu you turn,” he says. L’Impero doesn’t fare so well, and receives two stars (down from the three it received from Eric Asimov in 2002). “Its menu harbors more disappointments than Alto’s, and its kitchen is less polished,” says Bruni.

Also in the Times, Peter Meehan goes to El Quinto Pino in Chelsea for $25 and Under. Calls it “New York’s best, and maybe only, true tapas bar." Says the sea urchin sandwich is “the sandwich of the year.”

Ryan Sutton visits Allen & Delancey, where former Gordon Ramsay protege Neil Ferguson (fired from The London) is the chef. “Soon he’ll be famous for the right reasons,” says Sutton, “cooking at a place that’s more exciting than Ramsay’s.” Sutton also stops by Irving Mill (helmed by former Gramercy Tavern chef John Schaefer), finds the food “straightforward yet sophisticated.”

In the NY Sun, Paul Adams goes to Spitzer’s Corner on the LES, says of the gastropub “the gastro-part of the equation seems to be a distant runner-up to the beer.” Uh-oh. He finds the food hearty and pleasant yet “tasty as it is, [it] is not particularly riveting.” He does like the beer selection, though.

And Restaurant Girl visits Fiamma for the Daily News, awards the restaurant three stars. Says chef Fabio Trabocchi “elevates Italian to an opulent plane, and the revamped setting revisits the old world glamour of fine dining.” But avoid the lobster ravioli and the porchetta.