Wednesday Food News: Early Edition

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Primehouse New York . Calls it “an estimable [steakhouse], with virtues that will rightly earn it the affection of many discerning carnivores and give it a solid chance in a competitive field.” On the downside, the quality of the meats isn’t always quite what it should be, service is uneven, and beyond the steaks, the menu doesn’t have much to offer.

In Dining Briefs, Bruni revisits One if By Land, Two if By Sea, where new Chef Craig Hopson has a new menu that “works a vaguely Continental vein with more adventurousness than this restaurant previously exhibited.” Peter Meehan goes to Radegast Hall and Biergarten (pictured), where “the chief draws are its size… and its conviviality,” he says. Skip the food on the menu, and get the grilled sausage and French fries.

Paul Adams goes to Smith, the new Danny Abrams/Cindy Smith restaurant, in the West Village for the Sun. Likes the atmosphere, but says “the menu offers little respite for light eaters”-- the food is heavy, sometimes more so than it needs to be. Loves chef Pedro Romero’s appetizer of corzetti, but says “main courses lack the creativity of the rest.”

In other reviews, Ryan Sutton has NY’s best tables for 2007; Sietsema goes to Cantina; and Tables for Two is at BarFry. In the blogs, Slice goes to Peppe’s Pizza & Panini; Gastro Chic is at Belcourt; NYC Nosh visits Bocca di Bacco; and Gael Greene goes to Bar Blanc and Bocca di Bacco.