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The four I mentioned advertise authentic as part of their draw - as does Babbo. But I agree with you that authentic is over-hyped and an ethnic restaurant doesn't need to be authentic to be good.

Nathan, if you go make room for the cheese plate at the wine bar - either before dinner as an antipasti or after as dessert. They have a nice selection of dessert wines to enhance the cheese.

He's heard that said so many times, I think Mario's starting to believe it, but it's far from the truth. It's very good, but the best authentic Italians are in the outer boroughs - there are about three or four that Babbo can't compete in terms of giving you the feel of the "old country" and the authenticity of the plates. ← where? my experience of outer-borough dining is that there are some excellent Sicilian-American style places...but not "authentic", contemporary regional Italian cooking ← Sapori d'Ischia - very authentic from same area it's named Park Side - excellent example of a Roma type of resto Roberto's - southern style at its best Trattoria L'incontro - central to southern mostly, northern dishes range from outstanding to ordinary

He's heard that said so many times, I think Mario's starting to believe it, but it's far from the truth. It's very good, but the best authentic Italians are in the outer boroughs - there are about three or four that Babbo can't compete in terms of giving you the feel of the "old country" and the authenticity of the plates. Babbo is to Manhattan what Felidia is to Pittsburgh - a nice place with a big name and good food, but not where the "cognoscenti" of the cuisine dine. PS - Someone mentioned to me the other day that the only person who could afford to dine in Del Posto on a regular basis was the pope since he would get professional courtesy as a fellow cathedral owner.

I don't really disagree with that, though I think Del Posto and Gilt fall into a different category since both places let it be known four was the number they were seeking, plus the other similarities I've mentioned above. However, Marc, your point is well taken about all categories of restaurants being judged within a similar time frame. I guess that's one of the inherent problems with the star system - sorry couldn't resist.

There was no Del Posto review today. Instead Bruni reviewed The Orchard, which has been open since November, although Gilt and Telepan (the last two restaurants reviewed) both opened in December.It's pretty hard to discern a pattern. ← Marc, don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating a specific time period for restaurants. The point I was making was between Gilt and Del Posto and the similarities I mentioned above. I still don't think it's ethical (I know that's a strong word but I think it's appropriate here) for there to be a significant time lapse in reviews for two places vying for four stars. Since both opened at virtually the same time, they should both be reviewed within a similar time frame.

I don't see how a one-day closing (last Saturday) should affect a review. Per Se was closed almost 2 1/2 months. It was necessary to wait since the restaurant was only open six days before the fire. Del Posto opened Dec. 21 to the general public (according to press releases), which means eight weeks - Gilt was open seven weeks when the review appeared.

I'll agree it's a reasonable position in certain cases but I don't agree that's the case here. A reviewer (any reviewer) knows their review will have some overall say about the business a restaurant will/won't do. A landlord squabble is part of the cost of doing business and I don't see anyone holding back a review on that basis. As you know, these things could get dragged out for months or longer if lawyers get involved. So how long should you wait? And the critic would probably need to keep going back to update notes, pricing etc. A reviewer should just review. By purposely holding back (and if he does that, it will become public knowledge - we all know about leaks) he actually may become a bigger part of the story. Besides, it's almost a certainty Del Posto won't get four stars. No review to date has been totally positive. It's going to come in at two or three and those "numbers" won't measureably enhance or hurt business. Ultimately, the success of Del Posto will be determined by the cost/value ratio. It's the one factor that has been mentioned in every review I read.

Before Gilt, Per Se was the last Frank Bruni review of a restaurant with clear 4-star aspirations that hadn't previously been reviewed by another critic.After the fire, Per Se re-opened on May 1, 2004, and Frank Bruni's review didn't appear until September 8th — four months later, and three months after Bruni's first published review on June 9, 2004. I would therefore disagree that there is some standard amount of time for him to wait before reviewing a place, or that there is a fundamental fairness rule that obligates him to allow the same amount of time in every case. Because of the landlord/tenant issue at Del Posto, prudence would counsel waiting to review it. I mean, if Bruni awards four stars, the landlord's leverage goes way up; vice versa if he awards two stars. There's no assurance Bruni will be prudent, but that's what I would do. ← Understood Marc, but I don't see the landlord issue being relevant. As you stated earlier, the current landlord has no obligation to honor a handshake agreement with the former landlord. So two, three or four stars shouldn't have any effect. The place is not doing "land office" business now. A Times review won't help or hurt that much either way. Futhermore, while I agree there is no rule that obligates him to review restaurants in a similar timeframe, the similarities between Gilt and Del Posto make it necessary in my opinion. Both opened at roughly the same time, both were going after four stars and both were run by chefs with reputations on the line. To review one in seven weeks and the other, in say, four months smacks of favoritism. When he reviewed Per Se, he was the new kid on the block with no real history of past performances to be studied. Now he does. In lawyer "speak" - he opened the door with the Gilt review, now he needs to play fair by doing the same with Del Posto.

True, but too many chefs with many kitchens only "appear" on TV.

I think he's forced to review Del Posto very soon. It's been reviewed in a few places and since he reviewed Gilt after seven weeks, it wouldn't be fair to give Del Posto more time - he would appear prejudiced. Del Posto is now eight weeks old. In fact, it wouldn't shock me to see a Del Posto review tomorrow. Look for two stars with an outside chance for three since he's obviously a Batali fan. He just may give him the benefit of the doubt.

Does anyone know if they will re-open today after being forced to close Saturday? Sunday and Monday are normally dark for them - so they should open the doors today.

I hope everyone realizes I was being sarcastic with my post about Wylie in the kitchen. The point of my post was to compliment him and his staff on being so hands-on. I agree with Doc and his thoughts about celebrity chef "chain" restaurants. On a personal note - thanks to Doc and Marc who convinced me (because of their posts and reviews) to try WD-50 for my anniversary. My wife thanks you as well.

I forgot to mention this about my dinner on Friday. Wylie was cooking in the kitchen and I know that because we were invited in to say hello. I found this very interesting. I thought celebrity chefs wern't supposed to cook in their own restaurants anymore. Aren't they only to cook on their own TV show or as a guest chef on another show. And when they're not on TV, I thought all their time was spent writing cookbooks and opening new restaurants. So was was Wylie cooking? Didn't his fellow CCs forward him the rules? There's certainly almost no excuse for finding him in the kitchen. This doesn't bode well for him - I totally surprised at his errant behavior.

Any possible way to translate - looks great!

Dinner last night. Tasting menu and added two supplements - short ribs and hangar tartar. I think that made 13 courses. A great bottle of Mouvedre from Australia, a terrific Sauvignon Blanc and a spectacular late harvest Johannisberg Riesling helped wash everything down. All the courses have been described with great detail upthread by others, so there's no need for me to repeat. But here's my overall review - WOW! Never had a better meal in NYC, including Per Se, Cru, ADNY etc.

Hey, I've seen people in NYC restaurants wearing a tie and little else - be comfortable enjoy.

She's looking for his job when he "retires."

That's what makes horse racing.

I wasn't using the "out of date" star system to make my case on the demise of the NY Times. Claiborne created the Times system and gave out stars based on his own formula. That Luger got four stars (I would have given Luger four in the 60's) or bars got three in 1968 under Claiborne has no bearing whatsoever on today's NYC restaurant scene. What's happened since is simple evolution (Darwin would say it's actually reverse evolution). It's my most important argument against the star system - since the same publication has published so many starred reviews by so many different reviewers, the stars have become irrelevent. The Times is in a state of decline editorially - across the board. That argument left the building a couple of years ago with anyone remotely associated with the media. It has nothing to do with "...nothing is as good as it used to be," though the Times would like you to believe such. That the food section has followed the news, sports, entertainment, etc. departments only speaks to the consistency and conformity of the decline. Once known as the "paper of record," the once hallowed halls of the Times has become known as the vessel of ineptitude within the media industry. Most industry professionals look at the paper so they know what not to do in this age of instant media gratification. And one of the things they notice is moving people into positions who have no qualifications in said area. A look at the last two years of restaurant reviews is all you need to read to diagnose the spreading cancer. And, unfortunately for NYC denizens, there's no current therapy to cure it.

I went to Per Se the second day it was open (before the fire) and there was no indication of clumsiness or things being out of sync. In fact, I was totally impressed by the organization of the kitchen during the tour. I normally give restaurants a pass to iron out the kinks when they open. Saying that, at the level of Per Se and Gilt strive to operate, those things should be worked out (for the most part) before the doors open. If you want to play in the big leagues and your prices reflect that image, then you can't fall back and expect to be judged by a lower standard. You reap what you sow. No free lunch without a menu. Another point - Gilt will not succeed or fail because of the NY Times review. Maybe that was true twenty years ago, but today a less than stellar review by the Times may help more than it hurts - because of the paper's historic and rapid fall into mediocrity.

What's pathetic about that? If Bruni is so dependable, that ought to be seen as a virtue. ← You're right Marc, we should find some comfort in his consistency.

How about BYOB - bring your own bread. Solves the problem

Bottom line - the NY Times critic went into Gilt with three stars as his median point. If the restaurant exceeded his pre-conceived notions, he would have given it four. If it didn't live up to his expectations, two would be the number. It's as simple as that. All the other stuff is decoration. I'm going to brag a little here. When the subject of stars about this restaurant came up several weeks ago, I wrote in an earlier post on this thread two would probably be the number (you could look it up). That was based on what the critic wrote in his "price" piece. He is so easy to read it's pathetic. Just to relate this to another restaurant - Del Posto has no shot at four and three is questionable. However, the critic has a certain affinity to and with Batali, so three is still a remote possibilty providing the place opens up again after closing its doors next Saturday and Sunday.

The landlords were annoyed because they weren't getting a cut on the $29 valet parking fee. Above all else, popularity builds ego which builds contempt that eventually leads to failure. It's been that way for more than 2000 years and will probably remain so for another 2000.