Times critic Pete Wells doles out a whopping three stars to the casual Il Buco spinoff Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria, arguing that it "tastes just like Italy" what with its salumi and pasta and bread and pastries and sandwiches: "...what makes Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria stand out are the products made in this village-inside-a-restaurant, and above all the cured meats. When Americans first conceived the myth of the great, simple Italian restaurant back home, the one thing that was most out of reach would have been salumi of this quality...The work they are doing now...is the kind of exceptional reward Manhattan bestows on people who are stubborn, tireless and have the right timing." [NYT]
Steve Cuozzo encounters a confounding menu and inconsistent food at The Bowery Diner: "A huge wall photo shows an old subway car being dumped into the sea. Better they deep-six the menu, which mingles burgers and whelks...Choucroute scored high...But Palombino works the obscure repertory like an overreaching cabaret artist." [NYP]
Ryan Sutton doesn't mind the look and the food at Double Crown replacement Saxon & Parole but the service and overall experience is not up to snuff: "Yes, Saxon & Parole is a decent enough place to fortify your winter fat reserve, especially if you’re eyeing that plate of sharp cheddar, pistachio-studded pork pate and Mangalitsa ham ($29). But we expect better food and service from the impresarios behind Michelin-starred Public." [Bloomberg]
For the most part, Robert Sietsema likes both the French and the American sides of the Bowery Diner menu: "The menu's bedrock is seven hamburgers, priced about twice what you'd expect to pay in a diner. Nevertheless, the hamburger deluxe ($14) is opulently good." [VV]
Adam Platt awards two stars to the super fashionably uber buzzy new Acme: "Some of Refslund’s seasonal creations feel stagy and slight (it’s the middle of winter, after all), but there’s a rigorous, just-plucked freshness to the best of his cooking that separates Acme from the fashionably rustic restaurants that keep popping up, relentlessly, around town." [NYM]
THE ELSEWHERE: Julia Moskin doesn't adore the food but compares eating at Upper West Side newcomer Machiavelli to visiting an a museum of Italian food, Gael Greene encounters more than a few disappointments at North End Grill but still plans on returning, and Jay Cheshes writes that Alex Stratta's Bigoli feels like a rush job.
THE BLOGS: Gotham Gal hopes there are less speed bumps the next time she visits North End Grill, Immaculate Infatuation is not blown away by the food at Marcus Samuelsson's Red Rooster, Serious Eats takes an early look at the just opened Brooklyn restaurant 606 R&D, Francis Derby's King is right up NY Journal's alley, NYC Foodie has brunch at The Smith Midtown, Kingswood, and Barbounia, The Pink Pig thinks North End Grill is off to a rousing start, and Goodies First, the first blogger to hit up Toucan and the Lion on her own dime, thinks it's mostly okay.