Reviews for Ladurée, Bunna Cafe, Asiate, and More

Ryan Sutton awards three sparklers to Roberta's this week, and Sietsema gives a trio of red stars to Mapo Korean B.B.Q. out in Murray Hill, Queens. Here's a roundup of the rest of the week's big reviews:

Pete Wells ventures to Virginia to dine at the restaurants of mysterious chef Peter Chang: "The United States has any number of very skilled Chinese cooks. It has far fewer who put their skills in the service of the imaginative leaps we expect from major chefs. By the end of my dinner in Short Pump, I had no doubts that Mr. Chang is one of them." [NYT]

Steve Cuozzo finds a lot of clunkers on the menu at Maison Ladurée in Soho: "Beef tournedos tasted 100 percent gray despite pink centers. Dense, flavorless 'Dauphine truffled' potatoes suggested prison inmates' holiday meals. I enjoyed hot and creamy truffle-scented vichyssoise. But the rally ended with lamb saddle that faded into a mysterious brown sauce." Cuozzo gives the new restaurant one and a half stars. [NYP]

Michael Kaminer gives four stars out of five to Ethiopian newcomer Bunna Cafe: "Misir wot ($8 for a half-portion, if ordered individually), red lentils in searing Berbere sauce, is a cool spin on spicy baked beans, with sweet heat and smoky soul. Kedija selata ($8), a peppy salad of kale, tomato, onion and avocado, cuts through the plate with sharp kicks of lime. Mellower notes come from yater kik alicha ($6), pearl-shaped yellow split peas cooked with red onion, ginger, garlic and turmeric. Though tamer than it sounds, it's no less complex — or addictive." [NYDN]

[Lafayette, one of the good breakfast restaurants, by Krieger]

Joshua David Stein gives one star to breakfast, as a meal, in New York City: "The fact is, New York is a terrible breakfast city. Even the restaurants to which one instinctively replies, "Oh, they have a great breakfast" (historically Balthazar, truthfully Maialino, sometimes Lafayette, mostly for the scenery), don't have anything on their breakfast menu that isn't a well-trod classic, tastefully updated and prepared with competence. It's all fucking eggs, pancakes, waffles and granola." [The Observer]

The Robs award three Underground Gourmet stars to Rose Bakery: "The kitchen has a knack for cooking eggs: soft-boiled with toast, Moroccan style (a.k.a. shakshuka), and expertly scrambled with good British-style bacon on the side. The eggs not to miss are the ones that come in the so-called breakfast sandwich (weekends only). Its construction is unpredictable—once it came with a housemade sausage patty, avocado, Cheddar, and tomato jam on a brioche bun; more recently, a slab of Canadian bacon filled in for the sausage—but it's always terrific." [GS/NYM]

Alan Richman gives three stars to Midtown view restaurant Asiate: "A sashimi appetizer at lunch was complex and generous, nothing like sushi bar fare, the yellowtail sliced thick, laid over a chiffonade of sweet white radish, dressed with white ponzu and surrounded by dots of umeboshi, or pickled plums. It looked Japanese, pale and beautifully composed. I seldom if ever like cocktails with plates of food, but the sashimi was unexpectedly enhanced by the Baby Buddha, made with fresh cucumber and ginger." [GQ]

[Little Lamb by Robert Sietsema]
THE ELSEWHERE: Gael Greene is wowed by Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Hannah Goldfield has a great time at Little Lamb in Flushing, and Ligaya Mishan loves the kebabs and everything else at Parmys Persian Fusion.

[Krieger]
THE ELSEWHERE: Serious Eats editor Craig Cavallo has a great meal at Rouge et Blanc, Immaculate Infatuation's, Andrew Steinthal gives an 8.0 rating to Flinders Lane, The Pink Pig orders a satisfying sandwich from Mitchel London, The Food Doc is impressed by Contra on the Lower East Side, Joe DiStefano samples the rice rolls at the Noodle Village So Good stall in the New World Mall, NYC Foodie visits Bar Bolonat, and NY Journal is impressed by the food and the service at Gato.

· All Coverage of Reviews [~ENY~]

[Maison Ladurée Soho by Racked NY]