Wednesday Food News

This week in the Times, Bruni three-stars Le Cirque, bumping the restaurant's rating up from the two stars he awarded it in 2006. Executive chef Christophe Bellanca’s menu “nimbly straddles the line between predictable decadence… and creative flair,” he says. He also says that you’ll pay—a lot—for what you get, and that Le Cirque isn’t quite as reliable as other three star restaurants.

In $25 and Under, Peter Meehan is at Soba Totto, where he says you’ll find “a kitchen… that executes its duties with precision and consistency; a menu where unvarnished classics and more offbeat dishes mingle; service that is gracious and accommodating, and just languid enough to give you time to polish off your drink and order another.”

Ryan Sutton goes to Adour for Bloomberg News, finds the food “nothing new but well-executed.” Says the kitchen is conservative, and some of the food “more rich than nimble.” He loves the bar food (“this is Ducasse at his best”), and the electronic wine list available there.

And in the Daily News, Restaurant Girl three-stars Dovetail. Calls the salmon appetizer “a religious experience,” and loves the lasagna with layers of turnip in place of pasta. Says the décor is drab, but dessert is decent and the food overall makes the atmosphere worth overlooking.

In other reviews, Adam Platt is at Dovetail; Tables for Two goes to Dell’Anima; and Sietsema visits Nirvana. In the blogs, Andrea Strong goes to Smiths; NYC Nosh visits Brown Café; Mona’s Apple goes to Malatesta; A Hamburger Today visits Blue Ribbon Bakery, and The Amateur Gourmet lunches at Per Se.