This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Mesa Grill (pictured), knocking the restaurant down from the two stars given it by William Grimes in 2000. Says that while the Bobby Flay restaurant “has considerable charms… on balance [it] presents only flickers of the excitement it did [when it opened] in 1991… It’s an overly familiar, somewhat tired production. More to the point, it’s an inconsistent one.”

Peter Meehan goes to Hakata Tonton for $25 and Under, where he says the chef/part owner Himi Okajima “has built an impressive and intimidating temple to the very strange idea that trotters are the missing ingredient in just about everything.” Dumplings are garnished with pig nails, and the grilled foot had one, too. Meehan loved the foot, and much of the food. But there's an ick factor: the toenail, “stuck into a dumpling, where it didn’t need to be, it was just plain gross.”

Alan Richman visits Dovetail for Bloomberg, calls it “challenging.” Also “exuberant and shocking, the X Games of cuisine.” Says chef John Fraser “is too inventive for his own good. He’s also so talented he shouldn’t be missed.” Finds the décor (brown) ugly, and the service hit or miss, but the food makes it worth the trip, especially the fish dishes.

Paul Adams goes to Cooper’s Tavern for the Sun. Says the restaurant offers a “pretty straightforward handful of steaks, pastas and seafood, with just the occasional snippet of Asian citrus or North African brik pastry adding depth.” The more ambitious dishes are the most successful, he says, but the service pretty inept.

And in the Daily News, Restaurant Girl goes to Viñas in Williamsburg, awards the Latin-American restaurant two stars. She loves the poached escolar, the braised pork belly, and the yucca cake stuffed with squid. Meats are good too, but skip the desserts—in such a tiny restaurant, they’re “an afterthought.”

In other reviews, Sietsema goes to Hot Pot City in Flushing and Tables for Two is at Bar Blanc. In the blogs, Mona’s Apple visits Café Ronda, Salli Vates is at Pam Real Thai Food and Ariyoshi; and NYC Nosh goes to Trestle on Tenth.