Bruni three-stars the recently renovated Picholine. Though he doesnt much like the physical changes-"still too quiet and sadistically bright"-the renovation "reinvigorated this restaurants soul," he says. In fact, he now likes it so much he celebrated his recent birthday there. And the Eater oddsmakers nail it again. Theyre also all over the reopening of Waverly Inn (Graydon Carter edition). Also in the Times, Peter Meehan visits Italian restaurant Lunetta on Smith Street in Brooklyn for......

We came to win. We were prepared for the challenges they laid before us. Blind wines…bring it. Guess the spices…we came to play. Decorate the cookie…we’ll take down the pastry chefs. This was our mantra. Dirty or fair, we had one goal and that was to win the 2nd Annual Duckathlon sponsored by D’Artagnan. Clearly there was a miscount, because team Mother Ducker didn’t win, although we did steal the duck bacon prize from team......

The other night, Gothamist had the most decadent dream: in one night, we ate at Hearth, WD-50, Asiate, Public, Cru, Sumile and Per Se. We sipped wines from all over the world, and nibbled on delectable desserts from Spice Market. When we woke up the next morning, we realized that it wasn't a dream after all -- it was the StarChefs.com annual Rising Stars Revue, and Gothamist was there. This relatively small and intimate tasting......

Bon Appetit's 11th Annual Restaurant Issue showcases several of Gothamist's favorite New York restaurants: Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar, Casa Mono, 'inoteca, Pampano, Per Se, The Flatiron Lounge, and Chikalicious. RSVP, Gothamist's favorite section of the magazine, has a recipe for a fantastic local dessert, Chikalicious's Warm Chocolate Tart with Pink Peppercorn Ice Cream and Red Wine Sauce (anyone want to buy us an ice cream maker?), but no recipe for the oh-so-addictive Coconut Marshmallow petit......

If you work in the Financial District, Gothamist suggests you check out the Downtown Alliance's Dine Around Downtown event, where you can try samples of food from restaurants like Capsuto Freres, Ciao Bella, Bouley and Danube, and Les Halles Downtown, for $3 to $5. The event will be held at Chase Manhattan Plaza (between Liberty & Pine and Nassau & William Streets), from 11AM-3PM. Here's a PDF of participants. [If it's raining, the event will......