Countdown Bruni: Frank's Last Restaurant Recs

Bruni files his very last article as Times critic today by performing a Q&A with himself. (Q: Frank, what are the best steakhouses in New York? A: Well, Frank, I'm glad you asked that, because it's a complicated.)

Some of his final recs from that piece and the follow up on the BruniBlog, are broken down below, and check back later today for Eater's be-all-end-all epic Bruni post—a final dinner with Bruni.

Best Sushi: Masa, Sushi Yasuda
Best Steakhouses: Spark's, Porter House, BLT Prime, Keens, Harry's Steak, Strip House
Most Underrated: Perbacco, Degustation, 15 East, Soto, Accademia di Vino

Best Value: Eleven Madison Park
Under Publicized Burgers: Union Square Cafe, James, Monkey Bar
Brooklyn: Vinegar Hill House, Motorino, Al di La, Franny's, Dressler
Bar Food: Mayahuel, Gottino, Terroir, PDT, Employees Only
Fried Chicken: The Redhead, Blue Ribbon Columbus Circle

All those recommendations aside, this is the real useful Bruni parting gem from those pieces. On the safest way to navigate a menu:

Scratch off the appetizers and entrees that are most like dishes you’ve seen in many other restaurants, because they represent this one at its most dutiful, conservative and profit-minded. The chef’s heart isn’t in them. Scratch off the dishes that look the most aggressively fanciful. The chef’s vanity — possibly too much of it — spawned these. Then scratch off anything that mentions truffle oil. Choose among the remaining dishes.