"Some of the food is excellent," says the Times's Sam Sifton of Lyon, a très French bouchon in Greenwich Village. "It is a marvelous place to eat. The tables are set with red-checked napkins, the waiters and waitresses dressed to match. Each one is better looking than the last, worse at English, charming for that. They serve Beaujolais quickly, with gruff friendliness in tough little glasses, cold as a child’s morning cup of milk... The entrees need work, however... There need to be a few more things on the menu you’d want to eat again and again, more you’d return for with glee." more ›

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... more ›

A few weeks ago when we learned that Noho eatery Il Buco would be roasting Ossabaw hogs for its fourth annual "Sagra del Maiale," or outdoor pig roast, we knew there was no way in hell that Gothamist could stay away from the cobblestone block that is Bond Street. The Ossabaw is the very pig that Peter Kaminsky sang the praises of in his book Pig Perfect. And it is indeed quite a special piggy, for it is descended from Spain's legendary black-footed pigs, which are the source of the mindshatteringly luscious Jamon Iberico. more ›

It's July 14, which means it's time to appreciate the je ne sais quoi of all things French as you celebrate Bastille Day. Eating frites is one way, but there are many other events and activities today and tomorrow. more ›

April 5: Italian Festa to celebrate the paperback publication of George deStefano's An Offer We Can't Refuse: The Mafia in the Mind of America. A reading and signing, followed by a Sicilian wine tasting, with antipasti served. Free. Hunters Point Wines and Spirits, 47-07 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, Queens. more ›

Not only do rats like gorditas, they like faux French food too! more ›

Bruni two-stars Gordon Ramsay at the London. Echoing the words of others we've heard from around town, he finds conventional French food, well executed. "But the restaurant fails to deliver the most important thing of all," he says. "Excitement." more ›

Bruni re-reviews Eleven Madison Park and the Bar Room at the Modern, bumping each up a star to three. He raves about chef Daniel Humm, who took over the kitchen at Eleven Madison Park early last year. Finds the beef tenderloin with bordelaise sauce thickened with marrow "druggy." As for the Bar Room, it's "an unpretentious character study," he says. more ›

The Lutece Cookbook, by Andre Soltner and Seymour Britchky (Random House, 1995) more ›