Today the Times’s chief food critic Frank Bruni revisits WD-50 (pictured) and elevates the Lower East Side avant-garde restaurant to three stars (a 2003 Times review by another critic had awarded it two). Chef Wylie Dufresne has made WD-50 a destination with his experimental, transgressive menu, and Bruni concedes that in the past “too many of his creations were gratuitously perverse… many visitors understandably feel that what they’ve experienced isn’t so much a meal as......

This week in the Times, Bruni three stars Fiamma and rates it a top pick. Says that the restaurant is not, by any means, classically Italian, but “when a restaurant turns out this many dishes that make you stop mid-chew, nudge a companion and nod your head vigorously—because you’re excited; because you need to start working off the calories any way you can—it needn’t worry about fitting into a tidy box.” Also in the Times,......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Alto and L’Impero, both now run by chef Michael White (formerly of Fiamma Osteria). He finds Alto “better than ever” and bumps it up from two stars to three. “Alto is now a full throttle dining experience, no matter where on the menu you turn,” he says. L’Impero doesn’t fare so well, and receives two stars (down from the three it received from Eric Asimov in 2002).......

The Grey Lady is paying a return visit to Peter Luger Steak House in tomorrow's dining section. This New York institution was last reviewed by Ruth Reichl, who awarded it a hefty three stars, proclaiming it "the best steak in New York City." Her description of the Luger experience is almost pornographic: You know the steak is great before you even taste it. You know it from the fine, funky, mineral aroma that wafts across......

This week in the Times, ">Bruni goes to Gramercy Tavern, awards the restaurant--now helmed by chef Michael Anthony--three stars. It was last reviewed by William Grimes, when Tom Colicchio was cooking and when it also received three stars. Bruni says the restaurant delivers what diners want: “a kind of unstrained graciousness and unlabored sophistication.” Nearly everything he tasted was “exquisitely cooked,” and while the desserts aren’t the best ever, “there are some fine choices.” In......

This week in the Times, ">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......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Esca, calls chef Dave Pasternack a "fish whisperer" (um, OK Frank) and awards the restaurant three stars. "In an era when too many restaurants try to be everything to everyone," he says, "Esca has a specific agenda: show what the sea can yield." The restaurant was previously awarded two stars by William Grimes in 2000. In $25 and Under, Peter Meehan checks out the cafes at the......

This week in the Times, Bruni visits the Four Seasons, awards it two stars. Says, "The standouts on the menu aren’t as numerous as they should be. The signs of a restaurant that runs on two tracks--one for the anonymous, another for the anointed--are too obvious." The restaurant had previously received three stars from Ruth Reichl in 1995. But Bruni also finds a "stubborn magic" still there: in the architecture, the history, and the insider......

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. This week Eater once again does not put its mouth where its money is. Their......

That would be Michelin stars. The 2007 guide was released today, with ratings for 526 restaurants, including several newcomers from the past year. Del Posto debuts with a bang: two stars, joining the ranks of Masa, Bouley, and Daniel (Danube, which also had two stars last year, dropped down to one). All of those who earned three stars last year (Le Bernadin, per se, and Jean-Georges) held their ground with the exception of Alain Ducasse......

Bruni three-stars L'Atelier Joel Robuchon. While "it hit the ground limping," he says, "it improved quickly and greatly, and your focus can now fall on its mostly exhilarating food." He also finds at L'Atelier a new contender for the city's best haute burger: made with Kobe beef, foie gras, caramelized peppers and brioche buns. The Eater oddsmakers are back and right on the money: even odds on three stars. Also in the Times, FloFab's got......

Bruni reviews Blue Hill (in Greenwich Village, not at Stone Barns) bumps the restaurant up to three stars from the two it received from William Grimes in 2000. He cites "quality and immediacy" of ingredients and says eating there is a subtle experience, "like a hushed foreign film with subtitles." For Eater, three stars here gives Bruni the opportunity to "provide some relative benchmark for his two star hand job from last week [at......

Today in the Times, Frank Bruni gives Greek-Italian Dona two stars, says it reaches high and far--too high at times. As predicted by the oddsmakers at Eater. Elsewhere, Dona got three stars from New York magazine's Adam Platt, who said that the food is "always arresting, and often excellent," and had some love for female restauranteur Donatella Arpaia, who collaborates on Dona with chef Michael Psilakis. But according to another New York-er, Gael Greene, Psilakis......

But not together (no need to start any wild rumors here). We heard yesterday that Mr. Bruni's review would be hitting today's Dining section. But what would he think? Would he lean towards Steve Cuozzo's take? Adam Platt's? Both of them seemed to think that although some of the food was predictably good, if not overpriced, the decor and sheer vastness of the place combined with some misses on the menu threw the whole......

- The New York Daily News gives us something to chew on for V-day -- Hotties in the Kitchen. We call Dave Lieberman. - Andrea Strong checks out Tocqueville's new space. We saw it too (and would have shared the pictures if they hadn't come out horribly), but you can go see it yourself later this month. - Slashfood drools over 5 Ninth's Banh Mi, but at $12 we think it's a bit steep. -......

Charlie Suisman over at Manhattan User's Guide broke the French omerta on the New York City restaurants Michelin guide and listed the restaurants receiving 1, 2 or 3 stars. Only thirty-nine restaurants were reviewed. Here's a quick analysis: - Parlez francais: Frenchmen/French-themed restaurants take three of the four 3-star slots (Alain Ducasse, Jean-Georges, Le Bernadin); the fourth is American-born Per Se (lucky for punch bowl owners) - Time Warner Center sweep: Per Se, Masa (2......

Bex Schwartz, Writer/Director/Comedian...

Gothamist is pretty excited that Michelin will be reviewing NYC restaurants, because we love strange, pudgy, benign seeming characters. However, we were wondering how Michelin, a tire company whose guides have become as essential as AAA guides (like an indie rock band, Michelin is "huge in Europe") with the stature of Zagat, would work in our less driver-centric city. Luckily, the NY Times article filled us in: The star system retains Michelin's link to car......

Frank Bruni awarded four stars to Thomas Keller's Per Se in today's New York Times, noting that, although it certainly deserved the rating, It is not wondrous 100 percent of the time, and it can be maddening: at moments too intent on culinary adventure or too highfalutin in its presentation and descriptions of dishes, one of which came with a choice of four salts from three continents. To get a reservation may well require a......

There are tons of things to do this weekend, but one thing Gothamist is definitely doing is going to see Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Not only is it important to support the Asian peeps, it's necessary to see silly movies that make you laugh - this works well with both movies that are intentionally supposed to be funny, like Harold & Kumar, as well as ones that aren't, like Catwoman, which may......

New critic Frank Bruni's premiere Dining & Wine > Restaurants: Arias From the Kitchen" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/09/dining/09REST.html?8hpib">Times restaurant review is of Babbo, the crown jewel in chef Mario Batali and partner Joe Bastianich's restaurant empire. Bruni gives three stars, the same rating Ruth Reichl gave it that heady summer of 98 when it first opened (if SLNY were around then, they would have noted that the line was busy busy busy, and then when someone would pick......

Gothamist, fond of Amanda Hesser ever since we saw cook from her book, The Cook and the Gardener, at Fairway a few years ago, has to hand it to her. In her Dining & Wine > Restaurants: Mystery, Allure and Sushi" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/02/dining/02REST.html?ex=1401595200&en=52eb7c23cf74332c&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND">review of Masa, the swank $300 prix-fixe Japanese restaurant at the TimeWarner Center, she refuses to give it a rating...but not because it's bad:Masa is my last review as the interim restaurant critic. After......

New York City's French dining landmark, Lutece, will close it doors on at the end of the week, making its last service, Valentine's Day dinners, bittersweet. With the opening of Lutece in 1961, founder and chef Andre Soltner (right) helped elevate dining in New York to new heights. He sold the four-star Lutece in 1994, and even though the cuisine remained strong (it was given three stars), many still associated it with Soltner. Eric Asimov......

The Daily News gives the Lever House Restaurant three stars. Pascale Le Draoulec loves the restaurant - entrees are a mixed bag, desserts are fabulcous, cocktails need "fine-tuning," great service, sexy ambience - but the review is heavy-handed with bee references - a nod to the honeycomb interior design elements. - Title: This hive's a honey of a spot - The all-American tartar sauce that comes with the lobster Tempura seems stuck in the era......

Whoa, Meghan O'Rourke, an editor at Slate, gave a really devastating review of Liz Phair's new album, Liz Phair, in the New York Times this past weekend. O'Rourke calls Phair's album an "embarrassing form of career suicide." But when Gothamist read further, the review was more a lament about the Liz Phair of Exile from Guyville, tough and take no prisoners, not tarted up like Britney and using Avril Lavigne's songwriters: "You half expect the......