Tomorrow, Frank Bruni reviews Varietal, Greggory Hockenberry and Ed Witt's new wine temple in Chelsea. Today, the Eater oddsmakers have set the action as follows:
Zero Stars: 5-1So Frankie Frankie Bang Bang meets with a restaurant built for the adoration of wine in a neighborhood that when it goes upscale with its restaurants tends to go fussy as well. Things the Bruni doesn't like, #1221A: fussiness. That's not to say that Varietal is all that fussy; but, then again, it's not all that unfussy. And the Bruni does respect fussiness, at the end of the day. So, if the food delivers, even with rough edges, Varietal gets a star; if it hits it out of the park, it gets two. If it tanks, of course, it'll get the zilch-train, but will be awarded points for the wine service. End of the day: Eater's taking one star, but we'll point out that for the gentleman who likes to roll the dice, 5-1 on zero is an exiting bet, too.
One Star: 3-1 ??
Two Stars: 4-1
Three Stars: 30-1
Four Stars: 15,000-1
· Varietal [NYT; after 8:00 PM]
?? denotes the Eater bet.
