Andrea Thompson of the New Yorker heads to Luke's Lobster on the Upper East Side, noting the crowds—"On a recent evening, the line to order extended out the door and down the sidewalk, with one double-parking customer causing a noisy traffic jam"— and makes us hungry for the $14 signature item, a lobster roll with "utter simplicity of preparation: top-sliced bun, buttered and toasted, a light smear of mayo, a full quarter pound of lobster meat, a shake of what’s mostly celery salt, a drizzle of lemon-infused butter."

The Times' Oliver Strand examines some of the recent pizzerias to open up: The East Village's Totale Pizza has plastic tables and a not-quite knowledgeable (yet) staff, "But the oven is kept at an infernal temperature, and the pizzas arrive charred and tangy. The margherita with bufala mozzarella ($11.75) holds its own, and the Bianca ($9.75), with mozzarella, ricotta, olives and garlic, is creamy, intense and satisfying." Olio Pizza e Più in Greenwich Village shines with "less opulent" flavors, "like the caprese ($15), a riff on the classic margherita with cherry tomatoes and bufala mozzarella" though "the combination of smoked mozzarella, grilled pumpkin and speck in the Vesuvio ($18) is so natural that it’s a classic in the making." Paulie Gee's in Greenpoint has pizza crusts with more body, but they are inconsistent.

The Voice's Sarah DiGregorio visits Nuela in the Flatiron District: "One night, we sat next to a group of what looked like Jersey Shore extras who got progressively drunker until one girl got up and shrieked at her tablemates at the top of her lungs: 'I've got to peeee!' Meanwhile, we were eating food that went from great—a surf clam ceviche with watermelon—to really good—veal-tongue escabeche—to silly—a king-crab-leg dish that would compare unfavorably to the offerings at a Vegas buffet." Nuela was originally going to be a Douglas Rodriguez affair, but he abandoned the huge (literally—it's 3,000 square feet) project and Adam Schop took over as chef/owner. DiGregorio recommends the ceviches, like "one combining surf clam with a cylinder of lightly grilled watermelon and brunoise of multicolored heirloom tomatoes," "because the rest of the menu is seriously (and expensively) hit-or-miss."