">Bruni one-stars Wild Salmon. We’re surprised Chodorow let him in the door, after their feud over his review of Kobe Club. “The food runs the gamut,” Bruni says, “by turns excellent, ordinary and puzzling.” He recommends that you stick with the salmon, and try the different varieties offered (except the coho). Finds the service “oppressive” in its exuberance. more ›

">Bruni revisits Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak, upgrades the restaurant from one star to two. He says, "The improvement in the steaks has made it easier to appreciate the restaurant's other virtues… the unassailable quality of its raw bar selections; its gigantic, crunchy onion rings, some of the best in the city; its fried bone marrow appetizer, a decadence-squared dream." He still thinks the menu is overcrowded, though, and doesn't like the way they age the steaks. Bruni also visits Craftbar, about which he's less enthusiastic. He awards the restaurant one star, finding the atmosphere "grim" and that "much of the food lacked personality." more ›

Maybe it was just the red carpet, but most of the people we spoke to seemed particularly excited about the new digs for the James Beard Foundation Awards, black-tie affair held last night at Avery Fisher Hall to honor some of the country's best chefs, restaurateurs, and culinary professionals. Susan Ungaro, the President of JBF, noted that originally, James Beard had moved to New York to become an opera singer, but had to earn a living until he hit the big time. He started a catering company and the rest, as they say, is history, but she noted that he would have been pretty excited to be up on that stage. more ›

The fall out from restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow's full page NY Times ad complaining about Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni continues, much to the delight of foodies, critics of restaurant critics, and mental health professionals. Last Friday, former Times food critic Mimi Sheraton wrote in Slate that Chodorow was an "idiot" to run an ad, given "the added exposure of the negative review to so many who may never have read the original." more ›

Jeffrey Chodorow has it out for Frank Bruni, and we mean big time. In a full page ad in yesterday's New York Times dining section (at a reported cost of over $83,000), Chodorow a essentially called Bruni a hack with no real food or reviewing experience (see Bruni's bio here), and accused Bruni of personally attacking him rather than focusing on the food at his latest restaurant, Kobe Club. more ›

Bruni no-stars Kobe Club, Jeffrey Chodorow's contribution to the steakhouse scene. Finds the Kobe "rapturous," but the restaurant as a whole crazily overpriced and gimmicky. Says it presents "too many insipid or insulting dishes at prices that draw blood from anyone without a trust fund or an expense account." more ›

In case you've been caught up in your holiday shopping, we wanted to let you know about some recent restaurant openings: more ›

Bruni one-stars Cafe Cluny: it's "a beguiling neighborhood place," he says, and not much else. Cluny is partly-owned by Lynn Wagenkneckt, ex-wife of Keith McNally (the man who bought us Odeon, Cafe Luxembourg, Balthazar & Pastis), and Bruni sees something of their successful formulas here. Doesn’t make up for the "unimaginative" menu or "erratic" service, though. more ›