Today the Times’s Frank Bruni marvels at Manhattan’s new wave of high tone restaurant openings during a recession, and pins the trend not on entrepreneurial bravado but on the fact that it takes years to get a fancy eatery open, and most of these new places were envisioned in flusher economic times. It is true that in 2005, the top fifth of earners in Manhattan made 52 times what the lowest fifth make – $365,826......

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......

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Mesa Grill (pictured), knocking the restaurant down from the two stars given it by William Grimes in 2000. Says that while the Bobby Flay restaurant “has considerable charms… on balance [it] presents only flickers of the excitement it did [when it opened] in 1991… It’s an overly familiar, somewhat tired production. More to the point, it’s an inconsistent one.” Peter Meehan goes to Hakata Tonton for $25 and......

This week in the Times, Bruni two-stars Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill (the new one, at Columbus Circle). After a few rocky meals immediately after the opening, “the food has been consistently first-rate,” says Bruni. “Much of it also reflects the [owners’, Eric and Bruce] Bromberg’s winning playfulness.” He also says that while the sushi isn't the best in town, the fried chicken may be. In Dining Briefs, Bruni visits Cooper’s Tavern (pictured) in......

Paul Adams goes to Back Forty (pictured) for the NY Sun this week. “The restaurant takes its focus on farm-to-table cuisine almost to the point of self-parody,” he says. Back Forty could benefit more by the presence of Peter Hoffman (the chef and owner) in the kitchen, not so much at the greenmarket, says Adams. This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Barbuto. He loves the roasted chicken, so much so that he basically reviewed......

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Irving Mill (pictured). Says, “It’s a self-conscious heir to Gramercy Tavern…if only it performed that way.” He does like some of the food, and the wine list. “At Irving Mill’s finest moments, with its finest dishes, it’s decidedly more than pleasant,” he says. But the cooking is inconsistent, the menu sounds more flavorful than it tastes, the desserts are only so-so, and the space too big, says Bruni.......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Shorty’s.32 and Smith’s, awards each restaurant one star. Says that at both, “Skill, standards and a few well-chosen grace notes lift what might otherwise be favored neighborhood charmers into a slightly loftier league.” Loves the chicken and all side dishes at Shorty’s, though says the chef is “overly fond of wet fish and wet food.” Um, yuck. At Smith’s, says the lamb and lobster are the way......

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Primehouse New York . Calls it “an estimable [steakhouse], with virtues that will rightly earn it the affection of many discerning carnivores and give it a solid chance in a competitive field.” On the downside, the quality of the meats isn’t always quite what it should be, service is uneven, and beyond the steaks, the menu doesn’t have much to offer. In Dining Briefs, Bruni revisits One if......

This week in the Times, Bruni two-stars Allen & Delancey. Loves the atmosphere; says “the food at Allen & Delancey is at once sophisticated and accessible, reliant on fail-safe luxuries deployed in a modestly creative and occasionally playful manner.” Says that in some ways it’s similar to what he did uptown (at Gordon Ramsay at the London) but it works much better in this context. In $25 and Under, "> Peter Meehan goes to Food......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Grayz, gives the restaurant one star. He says of the restaurant that refuses to call itself a restaurant (it’s a ‘cocktail lounge that serves small dishes’): “These dishes demand fuller attention than the setting allows, and the prices—$39 for the short ribs—only make total sense if eating is the point of a visit.” In Dining Briefs, Bruni goes to Belcourt, which he says is much better than......

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Sam Mason’s Tailor. Loves the design of the place, and—along with everyone else—the pork belly, the arctic char and the drinks. Overall? “[Mason’s] infatuation with his own imagination doesn’t leave room enough for a self-appraisal of the results… a duck-and-eel terrine in a chocolate consommé tastes like cat food splashed with Yoo-hoo.” Hee. In Dining Briefs, Bruni goes to Toloache. Calls the upscale Mexican restaurant a “welcome addition”......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Harry Cipriani in the Sherry-Netherland Hotel, awards the restaurant no stars. Finds “service so confused and food so undistinguished it wouldn’t pass muster at half the cost.” Says prices at the restaurant ridiculous. The restaurant was last reviewed in 1991, when Bryan Miller gave it two stars. The one positive? “The people-watching is nonpareil." Peter Meehan visits Fifth Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, for tacos. Likes Epocas......

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......

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).......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Korean restaurant Moim in Park Slope, awards the restaurant one star. Says, “Many of its dishes, distinguished by a beautifully modulated and lingering heat, are compelling. Most are at least satisfying.” Prices are reasonable as well, he says, though service less than attentive. Ryan Sutton goes to Bobo in the West Village for French/Italian. Stay away from the Italian, he warns. Also, sit inside unless you’re a......

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Centro Vinoteca. Says of chef Anne Burrell “The woman can fry,” and you’ll be happy with your food provided you choose anything fried, especially those items on the piccolini (small plates) menu. The rest is erractic: “Both on and off the plate, Centro can elate and deflate you.” Peter Meehan goes to Nusara for Thai in $25 and Under; says the restaurant “belongs on the short but growing......

Bruni visits Park Avenue Autumn this week, giving the seasonal restaurant, which changes name (Park Avenue Spring, Summer, etc.), décor and menu every three months to suit the season, two stars. Says that executive chef Craig Kotesku’s cooking here is much more interesting than at Quality Meats, the other restaurant he oversees. “Park Avenue Look-at-the-Weather-and-Fill-In-The-Blank has more than a striking gimmick,” he says. “It also has some terrific food.” In Dining Briefs, Julia Moskin goes......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Wakiya in the Gramercy Park Hotel, gives it no stars. “There’s a crushing sense of letdown” in the restaurant, he says, and “the slickness of the red and black setting and the poise of the best servers are undercut by dishes that too often look three times as good as they taste.” He likes the desserts, though. Also in the Times, Peter Meehan visits BarFry for $25......

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 in the Times, Bruni goes to Peter Luger, gives the restaurant two stars—a drop from the three awarded it by Ruth Reichl previously. Says “no other restaurant serves a porterhouse so breakthtaking.” But he also says that the restaurant is inconsistent, service ranges from gruff to hostile, and the winelist needs an upgrade. Also in the Times, Peter Meehan visits Justin Timberlake’s Southern Hospitality for $25 and Under. Loves the baby back ribs,......

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 two-stars Soto, calls the restaurant “an unipalooza like none I’ve encountered.” Don’t stick to the sushi and sashimi; if you do, you’re “missing not only the best of this restaurant but also the point of it.” The service? “Sluggish and absent-minded.” In $25 and Under, Peter Meehan goes to Go! Go! Curry where he finds the curry sauce gloopy and sludgy, but ultimately “beguiling.” And they have a mascot......

Bruni goes to Franny’s in Brooklyn, rates it a top pick, awards it two stars, and calls himself a newly converted “besotted Franny’s believer.” Says Franny’s simplicity—they serve crostini, cured meats, pasta and pizza (along with a few other items)—“is deceptive. The restaurant finds transcendence in dishes and genres that wouldn’t seem to yield so readily to invention or open the door to so much pleasure.” And Cuozzo says Little Italy is “drawing unaccustomed buzz”......

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars “freestyle” Latin restaurant Rayuela on the LES. Says, “it’s a beautiful, fascinating, frustrating place, its cosmetic showiness echoed by dishes that are also all over the map, in terms of their appeal as well as their geographic and ethnic tethers.” He loves the tuna relleno, the arraz con pollo, and the lobster ceviche, and also the cocktails and the house-made bread. Also in the Times, Peter Meehan goes......

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 goes to Suba, awards the restaurant two stars. “While it has definite shortcomings and at least a third of the dishes don’t measure up to the others, the best of the food here is distinctive and exciting. In a few instances it’s even dazzling,” he says. And in $25 and Under, Peter Meehan visits to the new Shopsins, located in the Essex Market. Says the new place still reflects......

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......

This week in the Times, Bruni Bruni visits Top Chef winner Harold Dieterle’s Perilla. Finds it “earnest, endearing, and just a bit of a snooze,” and awards the restaurant one star. Sees more of Deiterle and partner Alicia Noscenzo’s past at The Harrison in the restaurant (friendly service, cozy atmosphere, reasonable prices) than in his past on Top Chef. But he finds some “primness” at Perilla, along with “scattered errors of judgement.” Doesn’t much like......

This week Bruni goes to P*ong, the dessert/savory restaurant brought to us by pastry chef Pichet Ong (formerly of Perry Street and Spice Market), awards the restaurant one star. Finds the restaurant "tantalizing, often irritating," and says it challenges one's ideas of what should be sweet and what should be savory. But the desserts are the restaurant's strenth, says Bruni, and also it's too crowded and the service is not good enough to make staying......

This week in the Times, Bruni doubles up on sushi restaurants, reviewing 15 East and Ushiwakamaru. 15 East gets two stars; Ushiwakamaru, one. 15 East “manages to stand out in a crowded marketplaces of Japanese restaurants that focus on uncooked seafood,” he says, partly with the cooked dishes, partly with the sushi and sashimi itself, partly with the “gracious service,” and partly with the outstanding wine and sake list. Whereas at Ushiwakamaru, “for every two......