This week Frank Bruni at the Times keeps his stars to himself and goes trendspotting, opining on four haute restaurants doing alternative, recession-minded menus. He raves about a couple dishes at Anthos Upstairs, located in "the second-floor room previously dedicated to large private parties — you know, those suddenly anachronistic events at which corporate generals larded their bonus-primed lieutenants," but has "better luck and a better time" at DFF, the re-appropriation of the private-party room adjacent to Craft, in the Flatiron district. "Semantically cuter but otherwise less appealing than DFF" is Halfsteak, where Bruni "got half service." And the à la carte Per Se lounge is "superb — and yet utterly ridiculous." GQ's Alan Richman also visits Per Se lounge twice, spending $454 on dinner for two, and is "unimpressed." more ›

This week Frank Bruni at the Times criticizes Corton, the new Tribeca restaurant helmed by enfant terrible chef Paul Liebrandt. Others at Time Out and NY Mag have raved, and Bruni's praise isn't exactly muted either: "At Corton [Liebrandt] calms down and wises up, accepting that an evening in a restaurant shouldn’t be like a visit to a fringe art gallery: geared to the intellect, reliant on provocation. It needn’t demand raptness. And it must, in the course of whatever else it means to accomplish, leave a person eager for the next bite and intent on the one after that." Makes sense, three stars. more ›

When Sam Buffa, co-owner of the Freemans Sporting Club Barber Shops, went on his first impromptu date with his bride-to-be Jean Adamson, who was then head chef at Freemans, their night ended in Vinegar Hill, the quaint little neighborhood bordering DUMBO. So it's kind of sweet that their new labor of love is opening in a 19th century carriage house right where they started, and now reside. They've spent the last four and a half months turning a former apartment into this 41 seat restaurant--with additional dining in a back garden once spring comes. Called Vinegar Hill House, it opened last night. more ›