This week Frank Bruni at the Times bestows two glittering stars on Allegretti, where one of his dining companions swoons for the fish soup, sounding like an absolutely insufferable food snob: "'It tastes exactly the way it should," she said, rushing the words out as soon as the soup was down. She wanted the rest of us to know. She wanted to crow. She wanted to be done with talking and get back to the soup. She was even making those mm-mm noises...What she meant, as I learned when she passed the soup to me, was that it tasted of Mediterranean waters — scorpion fish, rouget — and of Mediterranean sunshine, the tomato flavor robust and true...Watching and nodding as I myself made joyful sense of it, she said, 'Are we in the south of France or what?' Actually, we were in Chelsea, though it was easy to be confused." more ›

A week after the Sun declared that “disappointment is deeper” at Bar Milano, the Denton brothers’ (Lupa, 'ino, and ‘inoteca) trendy and noisy northern Italian place (pictured) in Gramercy, the Times’s Frank Bruni has seconded the emotion by quipping that “an Italian restaurant that bungles its pasta dishes is like a Las Vegas resort that doesn’t let you gamble. There’s still plenty to enjoy, but you’re likely to feel that the essential point and signature pleasure of the place have been lost.” Still, he drops two charitable stars, despite the fact that “Bar Milano is like a cellphone with constantly bad reception.” more ›

Julia Moskin has replaced Peter Meehan on the Times’s $25-and-under beat and starts with a baptism by fire at Greenwich Village Thai restaurant Rhong-Tiam. Or is “rhong-tiam” just Thai for sadomasochism? Moskin says their "Pork on Fire" is “not so much a dish as a session: an hour spent suspended exquisitely between pleasure and pain, craving and fear.” more ›

The Times’s Frank Bruni reports “a mix of exciting, intriguing and frustrating moments” in his review of Elettaria (pictured), the haute-Indian restaurant in the Village. BYO rimshot because one liners abound: “Elettaria describes itself as ‘spice-driven.’ (I’m waiting for the restaurant that’s driven by Morgan Freeman.)” But seriously folks, he loves the fluke in a sauce of coconut and tapioca pearls, while other entrees prove disappointing. Still, it gets a star for the “definite peaks and curiosities, among them the costumes worn by the poignantly obliging waitresses. If Calcutta has leprechauns, they must look something like this.” more ›

Today the Times’s Frank Bruni reviews The Harrison (pictured) in Tribeca; the paper gave it two stars in 2001 and Bruni maintains status quo with two stars today. There’s a different chef in the kitchen, Amanda Freitag, and Bruni digs the restaurant’s “populist bent, its awareness that breaded or fried objects are a sure path to many a diner’s heart.” But don’t get him started on the ambiance: “The Harrison’s visual evocation of a country inn in the big city still strikes me as more stodgy than cozy. And its soundtrack, too heavy on pop rock from 15 to 25 years ago, needs help. It’s neither classic nor cool. Just odd.” more ›

Jason Denton has made his mark in the New York restaurant landscape with well loved favorites like Lupa, 'ino, and ‘inoteca. His latest endeavor, Bar Milano, opened in April, serving not only lunch and dinner, but brunch and weekday breakfast. This upscale tribute to Northern Italy is housed in a Gramercy Park space that has been described as "cursed" due to the short lifespans of former restaurant tenants. Hopefully Denton's talent, pedigree, and strong partners will make the notion of a curse laughable and succeed where others have failed. more ›

The Habitat: This charmingly designed bar and restaurant we reported on a few weeks ago opens tonight. Built almost entirely out of salvaged lumber, The Habitat has achieved a rustic back porch ambiance by building an actual porch next to a wall dressed up with exterior siding and fake windows. Chef Ashley Engmann's small plate menu has empanadas, a pecan mandarin salad, cheeseburgers, and other sandwiches. 12 New York microbrews are on tap. 988 Manhattan Avenue, between India and Huron, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, (718) 383-5615. more ›