Sifton to Assess Midtown Chinese Standby, Chin Chin

Tomorrow, Sam Sifton will file on Chin Chin, the high-end Chinese spot that has graced the East Side for over two decades.

THE PLAYBOOK: It's unlikely the Sifton is singling out the Midtown standby to criticize it. Chin Chin is one of the old guards of higher-end Chinese cuisine, up there with Mr. Chow and Shun Lee, and it's not hurting anybody. Yet is is still hard to guess whether he'll give it a one or a two. Eater operatives who have dined there recently relayed that the restaurant is not on its game ("one star would be generous"), and yet Bruni wrote a rave of a blog post about the place just last July, saying it's known amongst his friends as their "go-to restaurant for that sort of formalized, Americanized, white-tablecloth Chinese" and pointing out the excellence of its service and Grand Marnier shrimp. Look out for a strong one/weak two.

SIFT HAPPENS: Who knows? He could give it a three!

THE LINE: No line this week. After last week's upset, we need some time off to figure out what this guy is thinking. [Chin Chin Reviewed, NYT; after ~8PM]