Sam Sifton may be stepping down as the Times' food critic but he's still got a few more reports to file first. So today we get a pleasant one-star review of the Pilsner Urquell-friendly Czech restaurant Hospoda that lives beneath the Consulate General of the Czech Republic. The food is good, the beer is remarkable considering there is only one type and "everything is prepared delicately, stylishly, the big flavors made demure by featherweight sizes, emphasizing modern presentation over traditional ones." more ›

After bemoaning the lack of good midtown restaurants the Post's Steve Cuozzo tries one this week and walks out with the best nasty review of the week. The whole Casa Nonna review is a classic take down (the porny lede in particular is magic) so we'll just cut to a few of the goodies: "Tedium, not sex, reigns after dark at Casa Nonna, the alarming new face of Midtown dining." "Crafted to feed Times Square’s tourist masses and guests of the West 30s’ budget-traveler hotels, it is People’s Exhibit No. 1 that the city’s great interpretive-Italian tide has ebbed." "Gloomy dark wood and endless pleated banquettes suggest a chain steakhouse invaded by a blazing pizza oven." Also? The joint's "remote, dark corners are 'a great place to fire someone.'" more ›

Last week New York's Adam Platt pointed out all the rich white people (Woody Allen! Lloyd Blankfein!) happily dining on Italian fare at The Leopard at des Artistes and today it is Sam Sifton's turn. In his two-star Times review the critic makes a real effort to point out the important people he saw (Jon Corzine, the directors of the Whitney and MoMA, a VP at the Met). But beyond Manhattan society, Sifton is also charmed by the restaurant's renovation since Cafe des Artistes closed (you really can't top Howard Chandler Christy's cavorting nypmh murals) not to mention the restaurant's "simple food, apparently simply prepared." The fare isn't cheap but chef Vio Gnazzo's dishes are deceptively easy, and reportedly worth it. The dishes "taste not so much cooked as composed." more ›