This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Shorty’s.32 and Smith’s, awards each restaurant one star. Says that at both, “Skill, standards and a few well-chosen grace notes lift what might otherwise be favored neighborhood charmers into a slightly loftier league.” Loves the chicken and all side dishes at Shorty’s, though says the chef is “overly fond of wet fish and wet food.” Um, yuck. At Smith’s, says the lamb and lobster are the way......

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Primehouse New York . Calls it “an estimable [steakhouse], with virtues that will rightly earn it the affection of many discerning carnivores and give it a solid chance in a competitive field.” On the downside, the quality of the meats isn’t always quite what it should be, service is uneven, and beyond the steaks, the menu doesn’t have much to offer. In Dining Briefs, Bruni revisits One if......

A bit of breaking food news: Doug Psaltis has left the Executive Chef position at Country restaurant after three years. Word has it that the 33 year-old chef has parted ways with chef/owner Geoffrey Zakarian to pursue other restaurant plans. While there’s no official word from the chef yet, chances are his next kitchen won’t be doing molecular gastronomy: Psaltis told Metromix in September that “I think we are getting too far away from our......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Alex Ureña’s Pamploma, gives the restaurant two stars. “Pamplona is Ureña [the chef’s former restaurant] with an attitude adjustment,” he says. “His best dishes are more than memorable enough to redeem Pamplona’s shortcomings.” In the Post, Cuozzo goes to BLT Market, where he finds “Tourondel’s first fully-composed dishes since Cello.” Says the restaurant revives the corner of Sixth Ave and Central Park South, and “What BLT Market......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Alto and L’Impero, both now run by chef Michael White (formerly of Fiamma Osteria). He finds Alto “better than ever” and bumps it up from two stars to three. “Alto is now a full throttle dining experience, no matter where on the menu you turn,” he says. L’Impero doesn’t fare so well, and receives two stars (down from the three it received from Eric Asimov in 2002).......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Korean restaurant Moim in Park Slope, awards the restaurant one star. Says, “Many of its dishes, distinguished by a beautifully modulated and lingering heat, are compelling. Most are at least satisfying.” Prices are reasonable as well, he says, though service less than attentive. Ryan Sutton goes to Bobo in the West Village for French/Italian. Stay away from the Italian, he warns. Also, sit inside unless you’re a......

Eater confirmed that cupcake confectioner heavyweight Magnolia Bakery is opening its first branch location on Columbus Avenue and West 69th Street. Magnolia owner Steve Abrams, an Upper West Sider, told Eater, "My friends who know I own Magnolia keep asking when I'm going to open them a bakery up here. So I think it's time." Well, it's probably time and having the right retail space. The store will occupy the corner that Japanese restaurant Lenge......

This week in the Times, Bruni two-stars Soto, calls the restaurant “an unipalooza like none I’ve encountered.” Don’t stick to the sushi and sashimi; if you do, you’re “missing not only the best of this restaurant but also the point of it.” The service? “Sluggish and absent-minded.” In $25 and Under, Peter Meehan goes to Go! Go! Curry where he finds the curry sauce gloopy and sludgy, but ultimately “beguiling.” And they have a mascot......

Bruni goes to Franny’s in Brooklyn, rates it a top pick, awards it two stars, and calls himself a newly converted “besotted Franny’s believer.” Says Franny’s simplicity—they serve crostini, cured meats, pasta and pizza (along with a few other items)—“is deceptive. The restaurant finds transcendence in dishes and genres that wouldn’t seem to yield so readily to invention or open the door to so much pleasure.” And Cuozzo says Little Italy is “drawing unaccustomed buzz”......

Like the rest of the city yesterday, Brooklyn was recovering from an angry summer squall that shut down the subways and even had its own tornado. While all this was going on Gothamist learned from Porkchop Express that the fate of a Brooklyn institution hung in the balance. Namely, the pan-Latin paradise known as the Red Hook Ballfields. Yesterday Cesar Fuentes, the Executive Director of the Food Vendors Committee of Red Hook Park, met with......

Some folks were mighty disappointed when a Daisy May's BBQ cart on Park Avenue and 52nd Street turned out to be a tease. According to Midtown Lunch, the cart was set up outside the Seagram Building for the filming of the next Adam Sandler movie, You Don't Mess With Zohan. The Hollywood Reporter says You Don't Mess With Zohan was written by Sandler, Judd Apatow, and Robert Smigel and it "follows the exploits of......

This week Bruni goes to P*ong, the dessert/savory restaurant brought to us by pastry chef Pichet Ong (formerly of Perry Street and Spice Market), awards the restaurant one star. Finds the restaurant "tantalizing, often irritating," and says it challenges one's ideas of what should be sweet and what should be savory. But the desserts are the restaurant's strenth, says Bruni, and also it's too crowded and the service is not good enough to make staying......

We are sad to hear that Pier I Cafe at Riverside Park South (around 70th Street, underneath the West Side Highway) was closed by the Department of Health. A reader visited the cafe on Sunday, only to find "a note saying they're probably closed for the season because the city said the bathrooms they had weren't good enough." The cafe had an open kitchen and bar, and the bathrooms were built in a temporary......

This week in the Times, Bruni doubles up on sushi restaurants, reviewing 15 East and Ushiwakamaru. 15 East gets two stars; Ushiwakamaru, one. 15 East “manages to stand out in a crowded marketplaces of Japanese restaurants that focus on uncooked seafood,” he says, partly with the cooked dishes, partly with the sushi and sashimi itself, partly with the “gracious service,” and partly with the outstanding wine and sake list. Whereas at Ushiwakamaru, “for every two......

This week in the Times, Bruni dines at Mercat, awards the restaurant one star. He likes the food; doesn't like the noise level. "Some wonderful food, some clangorous acoustics: these are the defining traits of Mercat," he says. Prices at the Spanish restaurant are quite reasonable, and with it come some tradeofffs: the food is sometimes uneven (particularly the seafood), service a bit off, noise level too high, desserts less than spectacular. In Dining Briefs,......

Cold brewed coffee has been a summer iced coffee secret for those in the know for some time. While it is not mentioned in the article, certain blends work best for this method, try Porto Rico coffee to get the goods for this distinct approach to a summertime favorite. What's an 11 champagne lunch? Why would you even bother to ask -- just go! July has just started and local corn is here at the......

Nathan's better get their beef remnants and buns ready, because Takeru 'Tsunami' Kobayashi is coming to the shores of Coney Island. At least that's what Kobayashi's manager says. If you've been following along, you know that Kobayashi, the reigning champion and six time Mustard Belt winner of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, has experienced some hiccups in his training for the July 4th competition. After one week of training, he developed jaw arthritis. Ever......

Rebecca Charles, NYC lobster roll pioneer and owner of Pearl Oyster Bar will do whatever it takes to protect the formula she has created to make Pearl such a success. She has brought suit in Federal court against Ed McFarland, her former sous chef and owner of Ed's Lobster Bar, claiming that he copied “'each and every element' of Pearl Oyster Bar, including the white marble bar, the gray paint on the wainscoting, the......

Oh no! Could it be? Is the rematch between Takeru 'Tsunami' Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut in doubt? Last year at the Nathan's annual 4th of July Hot Eating Contest, Kobayashi narrowly defeated Chestnut to win the Mustard Belt for the sixth year in a row. Defending his title next week may not be possible for Kobayashi. First, his mother passed away in March, causing the Tsunami to take a sabbatical from training. Now, news......

The Sunday EV Greenmarket has now picked up a fishmonger from a Hampton, not really sure where really or how long they have been there, but the stuff looked superb. Porgy filets, creamish colored sea scallops, black sea bass, and yellowfin tuna were some of the selection presented. Speaking of the farmers, they seem to be finding a published voice more often, hopefully they can join the celeb chef's on the podium and grab a......

Pizza lovers in the city can breathe a sigh of relief as Di Fara is back, after being temporarily closed by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. We couldn't detect any obvious changes to the pizzeria and Dom DeMarco was with head gear and sans gloves creating pizzas in the traditional way. When we visited yesterday, they were doing their normal brisk business with a mix of locals, some MTA employees having lunch,......

Good news! Serious Eats reports that the vendors at the Red Hook ballfields will be allowed to sell their delicious food through the season, which ends October 28. (Eater explains that the Parks Department approved a waiver.) Earlier, there were concerns that the vendors would be denied permits by the Parks Department, which brought out fans ranging from soccer players to chefs. The vendors will start have to work out a formal deal with the......

Potential 2008 contender for hip new ingredient, Kid Goat gets the Sunday Magazine treatment. For the Aspen Food & Wine festival you have two main choices – the horses mouth or Eater, you decide. Look for plenty of updates Monday as the day ticks by. The DiFara drought continues, week 3 begins now. Regina Schambling has a hypothesis as to what shut East Village institution Kurowycky’s a few weeks back, but due to the design......

People really do be lovin' some of that there Hill CountryBBQ. It's a bit stale by now, but Jason Perlow is seeking help from all you Korean food loving souls. Eater has the line of the week during their postmortem on the BABBP declaring - “Now, we will cease eating for three days, or until such time we stop sweating pork juice.” Meg pulls a Chodorow and follows Bruni to Gramercy Tavern, she likes what......

Something to complement Slice's Sunday item about Di Fara possibly reopening this week: Reader Jim sent this photograph a friend took of the beloved pizzeria - this note has been written on a pizza box! Last week, Di Fara had been closed by the Department of Health; most of our readers were okay with Dominick DeMarco not using gloves but were concerned with evidence of mice.......

This week in the Times, ">Bruni goes to Gramercy Tavern, awards the restaurant--now helmed by chef Michael Anthony--three stars. It was last reviewed by William Grimes, when Tom Colicchio was cooking and when it also received three stars. Bruni says the restaurant delivers what diners want: “a kind of unstrained graciousness and unlabored sophistication.” Nearly everything he tasted was “exquisitely cooked,” and while the desserts aren’t the best ever, “there are some fine choices.” In......

Frank essentially calls Robert out on his Il Brigante review from a couple of weeks back. Looks like he is getting his pizza jones ramped up, expect a flurry of pizza output in the next few months. In a sad bit of news, Teresa's the the Polish stalwart on lower on First Avenue has ended its 22 year run in the East Village. They remain in business at a Brooklyn Heights location. In a sadder......

This week Bruni visits Katz's Delicatessen, awards the LES institution one star. Calls its pastrami sandwich "one of the best in the land" and Katz’s itself "the king of New York delis." He doesn't like the potato knish, the latkes or the desserts, but overall loves the institution—don’t we all? —that is Katz’s. Also in the Times, Peter Meehan goes to Lucky Eight in Brooklyn's Chinatown for $25 and Under. He recommends the dinner menu......

No orange Sharpies in these goodie bags, honest. Technically we weren't at Martha Stewart's table. French wonderchef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten was. Gothamist had the distinct honor of attending the premiere broadcast of the domestic diva's new Sirius radio show, At Martha's Table last week. As Gothamist approached the McGraw-Hill Building on 49th Street, we knew Martha was already in the house, particularly because there was a Chevy Suburban with tinted windows parked outside. And what a......

This week ">Bruni two-stars Belgian Resto. Loves the beers, the fries and mussels, and the hint of Asian seasonings in some dishes: "Resto's version of Belgium is neither clichéd nor isolationist," he says. It’s not great for your arteries, either, he points out, but sometimes it's worth the health risk. In ">Dining Briefs, Bruni stops by Perilla (the new restaurant opened by Top Chef winner Harold Dieterle). Says "Like a bistro with elegant tailoring, it......