This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Lebanese Ilili, saying “Ilili is probably the atmospherically grandest excursion into Middle Eastern cooking that New York has ever seen.” While much of the menu is inconsistent, he loves the kebabs and kaftas. Says the service is “occasionally confused.” And get the essmalieh for dessert. In Dining Briefs, Peter Meehan goes to Abraço Espresso (pictured), says “it’s tiny, it brews excellent coffee, and the little food that it......

The New York Film Critics Circle met yesterday to vote on their “Best of” list for 2007; widely viewed as a barometer for the upcoming Academy Awards, the critics pride themselves as “a principled alternative to the Oscars, honoring esthetic merit in a forum that is immune to commercial and political pressures.” But if one anonymous member is to be believed, the meeting sounds more like a “principled” excuse for an Aint It Cool News-style......

The Todd Haynes Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There has gotten so much press for so long we kept forgetting it wasn't actually released until today! The high-concept Oscar contender, for those who haven’t heard a million times already, features six different actors portraying a Dylan-type character at different stages of his career. It opens today at select theaters but film buffs have been cultivating opinions about the polarizing film since it first screened......

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......

There's been talk of what will happen to the Hotel Pennsylvania for a while now, and today the NY Observer reports that the skyscraper planned to take over the 401 Seventh Avenue address could be stopped by preservationists. Since the demolition project needs to be met with public approval it might not bode well that the construction "would entail building over the railroad tracks that run beneath the hotel and pose engineering and security challenges."......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Gemma in the Bowery Hotel for Italian, awards the restaurant one star. Calls it a “cheat sheet” of a restaurant that recalls Morandi, but with a less skilled chef. “It’s also Morandi in a smarter, sexier outfit, with more charismatic, fluid service. That’s it’s saving grace,” he says. Ryan Sutton stops by Tailor for Bloomberg News. Says “two evil geniuses [Sam Mason and mixologist Eben Freeman, both......

This week Bruni one-stars Bar Stuzzichini. Says that overall the restaurant is “an honorable effort worthy of note. Its dishes include more successes than failures.” However, service is flawed, lighting unflattering and the space itself “evocative of…a Midtown mess hall.” In Dining Briefs, Marian Burros likes Accademia di Vino, calls the pizza “crackling crusted gems.” Bruni goes to Borough Food & Drink, which he says “gets points for cleverness, humility and a fundamental earnestness that......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Café Boulud, reaffirms its three-star status. Says that under Chef Bertrand Chemel (who replaced Andrew Carmellini after his departure in 2005), the restaurant “promises about as much pleasure in the present as it did in the past.” He likes the traditional section of the menu best, but also loves the pastas. Doesn’t love the desserts, excepting the soufflés. In Dining Briefs, Bruni goes to Benjamin Steak......

This week in the Times, ">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. In ">Dining Briefs, Bruni goes to Amalia. Says “Many of [chef Ivy......

What’s worth watching on food-related TV this week? ">Martha Stewart has all new episodes this week (10am Monday-Friday, NBC). Monday her guests are Mario Batali, Michael Schulson and Scott Conant; on Wednesday it’s Rick Bayless, Sue Torres and Tom Douglas. Fox has Episode 7 of Hell's Kitchen on Monday at 9pm. Melissa’s gone, and six contestants remain. Read the latest episode roundup in the LA Times here. Gordon Ramsay has also adapted his BBC show......

The City Council unanimously reappointed four commissioners and appointed a new one to the Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday (via the NY Observer). Four of the five have ties to the outer boroughs. The newest, Diana Chapin, is the Executive Director of the Queens Library Foundation and a founding member of the Historic House Trust, which protects and preserves historic houses. She has served in various positions in the City Parks Department and was the Queens......

The NY Observer has the details on the negotiations between Columbia and its West Harlem neighbors. The university claims to own 67.5 percent of the 17 acres it wants to develop from 125th to 133rd streets between Broadway and Twelve Avenue - leading to a scramble for the 20 percent owned by the MTA and other public agencies and the remaining 12 percent that is privately held. University officials are turning to Community Benefits......

The Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday stalled Aby Rosen and Norman Foster’s proposed glass tower above the 1949 Parke-Bernet building at 980 Madison Avenue. While the commission didn’t formally reject the plan, it did not approve the addition or support a zoning waiver, two requirements for the project to proceed. All but one commissioner said during the public meeting at the Surrogate’s Court building that they could not support the building because of its scale, massing,......

Have you seen this trailer? If you haven't seen it in a movie theater, chances are it won't have quite the same oomph. Major kudos need to go to the DreamWorks marketing team for putting together a preview that doesn't even pack its full punch until the words "From Director Woody Allen" pop-up on screen. Everything that comes before looks more like a sequel to last year's Closer than anything Allen has done, certainly in......

Except, that is, for the Jets! The Yankees reveal plans for the new Yankee Stadium today, and we can't help but wonder if George Steinbrenner is annoyed that the Mets are getting a lot of attention for being part of the city's last-ditch ammended 2012 Olympics bid. The Yankees will be recreating the old stadium in the new redesign, including features that were destroyed when the current stadium was renovated in 1976. Georgie Boy will......

Gothamist loves how "secret meetings" become unsecret. For example, the NY Times reveals that former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer and Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields, both eyeing a run against Mayor Bloomberg this fall, secretly met last week and allegedly agreed not to attack each other. Part of the reasoning is probably because each candidate has support from attractive blocs of voters (Latinos for Ferrer; blacks and women for Fields), they want to......

Check out the NY Observer's article on this year's BookExpo America in Chicago, the big annual publishing event where authors, publishers, and the public come to meet to get excited about upcoming titles, like the Bill Clinton memoirs as well as a slew of books criticizing the current president. The article also shows how the NY publishing world was transplanted in a city where you can smoke indoors - and there's a mention of Anthony......

With the clock running out on Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq, New York's steps to beef up security have reached a fever pitch. "Operation Atlas" is in effect, complete with check points around the city. "Broadly speaking, we are tightening the protective net around New York City," said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly at the press conference. Speaking of the tighter security net, doesn't it seem like time for protective shield technology to reveal itself? More......