The Times's Sam Sifton reviews Tanoreen this week; it's a Lebanese place in Brooklyn run by a Palestinian-blooded, Israeli-born, American resident mother and daughter team. The food is everything good middle eastern food should be, with "ethereal hummus, lightened with lemon juice to the point of being cloudlike, and some crazily flavorful tabbouleh, whose mint and bulgur combine into something that tastes very much like joy." However, the entrees aren't as successful, and Sifton gets sidetracked over the use of basil on middle eastern lamb. "Is such cooking authentic? Yes, though no. It doesn’t matter and who cares. It’s mostly delicious."

The Village Voice's Robert Sietsema seems ready for Choptank, as he spent a weekend in Baltimore prior to the review so he could accurately compare cuisines. Too much? Maybe, though Choptank seems to get most things right. Their Old Bay chips are "habit forming," and though the crabcake induced laughter because of the ornate presentation, "the generosity of the crabcake and its clean, fresh flavor were remarkable." Maybe Sietsema will start making these weekend research trips a regular thing?

Sarah DiGregorio only had to travel uptown for her review of The Wright at the Guggenheim, where one out-of-towner felt like he was in "a movie about the future" (We called it?). While the Wright "does not come close" to Danny Meyer's the Modern at MoMA, it does "fill a certain niche, offering fine cooking that will appeal to the neighbors, though at such high prices that only the neighbors can afford it." Indeed the neighbors seem to be the only ones there, asking questions like "Is the lobster interesting in any way...or is it just regular?" Though the server said the lobster is "very nice", DiGregorio heartily disagrees. Overall, like "the art at the Guggenheim, the Wright may be expensive and not your style, but it's easy to appreciate the thought and skill that goes into it."

The New Yorker's Shauna Lyon hits Danny Meyer's Maialino this week, calling it his "warm and fuzzy approach to the Roman trattoria." The food is "usually delicious, occasionally spectacular," and there doesn't seem to be anything she doesn't like. She does recommend that instead of the suckling pig, order the Malfatti al maialino, a pasta dish with chunks of pork cooked in butter. It's "a good way to get a taste of the signature dish...without forking over $72."