Back in March restaurateur Chris Cannon closed his duo of Italian restaurants Alto and Convivio. Besides being sad to see two beloved restaurants go, a number of oenophiles we know were bummed to see the restaurants impressive wine lists slip away as well. So, if you were anything like our friends, you'll be happy to know that the duo's wine cellars are being auctioned off tomorrow morning. more ›

Chris Cannon, who kept restaurants Alto and Convivio after splitting with partner Michael White, announced yesterday that both restaurants would be closed permanently. Cannon told the Times, “It is with great sadness that I report that both restaurants are officially closed for good. I have no other information at this time.” A phone message at Convivio also announces, “Thank you for calling Convivio. Sadly we will be closed permanently, we appreciate your patronage." more ›

The word "marea"— which happens to be the name of the new restaurant just opened by business partners Chris Cannon and chef Michael White, in the fabled, former San Domenico space—means tide. But White and Cannon’s spot has become the object of such intense speculation in the months leading up to its opening to the point that Crucible might have been a more fitting name. How come? Because of its prime Central Park South location, for starters: the restaurant’s rent is somewhere in the $750,000 per year ballpark. On top of that there was the massive renovation undertaken by Cannon and White. "How do you define 'brazen' in the dining world?" the Wall Street Journal asked earlier this month. “By opening an opulent, multimillion-dollar Italian eatery on Central Park South as many other restaurants struggle to fill seats.” more ›

This week the Times's Frank Bruni reviews Kurve (pictured), the Thai-centric space-age restaurant in the East Village, which has had a long, rocky road to opening. (After Sarah DiGregorio at the Voice ate there in September, she was informed it "was not yet open.") Bruni awards it zero stars and has fun with his disgruntled companions along the way:

"Kurve struts. Until recently it outfitted its servers in proper hats, which prompted associations that changed depending on how far our meal had progressed, how thoroughly our patience had been taxed and how sinister our outlook on the restaurant had become. more ›

This week the Times's Frank Bruni has a mouth-watering rave for Southern Italian restaurant Convivo (pictured), chef Michael White's revision of the stuffy L'Impero in Tudor City. He declares that Convivio has emerged from the transition "as a pasta lover’s dreamland...soulful and unpretentious...Mr. White can do it all...and is doing even better work with pasta at Convivio than he has done at Alto." Skip the seafood, though: "Roll-ups of fried swordfish with a yogurt sauce tasted too much like some tarted-up refugee from Long John Silver’s." more ›

Get yourself some popcorn, because this week Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni is taking the hammer to big shot media power-lunch nest Michael's. Turns out dinner there is an overpriced joke: "I thought Michael’s prided itself on produce. Then I had its appetizer of peekytoe crab with spears of white asparagus, which might as well have been spears of white wax for all the flavor they had....[Michael’s] certainly charges like a serious restaurant, levying a tariff of $35 for a lunchtime burger that’s not Kobe and doesn’t ooze foie gras. So it should perform at the level of a serious restaurant. These days, it usually doesn’t." He pauses to lavish some kind words on an omelet, but then it's back to bashing: "Shouldn’t a diner paying $38 for sea scallops get more than two, situated at opposite ends of a long hillock of sautéed snow pea leaves? Maybe that’s enough for a businessperson having a light lunch on a big expense account. For anyone else, it isn’t." Kill the rich! Zero stars! more ›

Today the Times's Frank Bruni has kind words for Nolita newcomer Elizabeth, which "has its problems, annoyances and confusions...and it still doesn’t seem entirely sure of what it wants to be...But it also has an adventurous, sometimes silly spirit that’s winning in its way." (Note the skull pictured here.) "My waitress’s outfit one night (scary knee-high boots with a skimpy black satin dress) made me wonder if she was poised to mete out cocktails or lashes." And the desserts! The rice krispy treats "function as shovels for an unexpected chocolate and peanut butter fondue with a hood of toasted marshmallow. It’s dessert as gooey spadework and dessert as regression therapy, taking you back to a childhood of Reese’s and s’mores." more ›

Last month chef Michael White and his business partner Chris Cannon opened Convivio in the space formerly occupied by L'Impero, which White took over after the abrupt departure of chef Scott Conant (who has since opened Scarpetta). Where L'Impero was perceived by some as stuffy and overly formal (Times critic Frank Bruni said it evoked "the upholstered interior of a very large coffin"), Convivio aims for a more casual, though still elegant, atmosphere, with "burnt orange" upholstered banquettes, lacquered ceilings and a copper bar top. (Photo after the jump.) more ›

Delicatessen: Opening last night in SoHo, this snazzy new restaurant/lounge from the owners of Cafeteria had a soft-opening Thursday with an Interview Magazine party. Grub Street reports: “There’s not much new about the sleek surfaces, backlit back bar, and the cabinlike (odoriferous!) wood panels upstairs, but we were wowed by the square, eight-table room downstairs, where there’s a D.J. booth, a wall mural by José Heredia, and a sunroof offering a view of the tenement buildings above.” Chef Doron Wong’s cosmopolitan comfort food menu ranges from a breakfsast-time Delicatessen Benedict, made with pastrami and spicy spinach hollandaise sauce, to Matzoh Ball Chicken Soup and Cheeseburger Spring Rolls for dinner. 54 Prince Street, (212) 226-0211. more ›