In giving both Gottino and Terroir single-star reviews, Frank Bruni probably just set the fuse to a gourmet-wine-bar explosion — which, based on this review, is a good thing indeed. We only wish it had occurred to us to call Paul Grieco “evangelistic” in his wine madness. [NYT]

Danyelle Freeman finds it hard to believe that Scarpetta used to be the Village Idiot, and also difficult to express how much she loved the food there. A whopping four-star review for Scarpetta. [NYDN]

And how about this? Robert Sietsema, who joys in decrying the failings of trendy restaurants, writes an unabashed love letter to Scarpetta as well, without ever even mentioning the spaghetti with tomato sauce, the place's crowning achievement. [VV]

Despite mostly hating the barbecue parts of the Bar Q menu, Frank Bruni found enough to like at Anita Lo's new restaurant to justify giving it two stars, thanks to dishes “eclipsing my frustrations and lifting Bar Q well above its unevenness.” [NYT]

Ryan Sutton lays a merciless beat-down on Scarpetta, even going as far as to call chef Scott Conant's famous spaghetti overcooked! In fact, Sutton did like a few things — a fish here, a pea soup there — but he's not buying into Scarpetta, and puts down his flag with the first vehemently negative review. [Bloomberg]

Steve Cuozzo drops the hammer on Benoit, and from what we're hearing, he won't be the last. “Boring,” “irredeemably dull,” “unseasoned enough for convalescents…” Welcome back to the critical shit list, Mr. Alain Ducasse! Your brief honeymoon with Adour is now officially over. [NYP]

It's hard to convey non-disappointment as the tonic note of a restaurant review, but Frank Bruni pulls it off in a strong, two-star endorsement of the Harrison. The only fault is Jimmy Bradley's retro soundtrack which is “neither classic, nor cool. Just odd.” But we liked that! [NYT]

Peter Meehan makes his way over to Artichoke Pizza, but you can tell he's not really impressed by the slice, which he describes as having “a bready, almost tough, crust, generously and greasily topped.” He likes the guys and all their unreliable shtick but won't say it's great pizza. [NYT]

Pomme de Terre, the tiny bistro on Newkirk Avenue in Ditmas Park, got its first major review and it was a bombshell: three stars from Restaurant Girl for perfectly executed French standards. [NYDN]

Randall Lane made it in to Momofuku Ko and gives the place five stars, gushing, “dish after dish dazzles with class, innovation and balance.” The behind-the-counter action, with David Chang berating a girl cook for the way she wrings a dishrag, maybe isn't “great theater” though. [TONY]

Bar Q “thrilled” Steve Cuozzo “on all visits but one,” when chef Anita Lo wasn't around, which is too bad, since his dishes on the off night mar what might have been a rave review. [NYP]

Robert Sietsema, on the other hand, hits bar Q hard: Lo's BBQ sauce “tastes like it's been dumped out of a white carton from the local Chinese carry-out,” and her “pork wings” “remain flightless because they're heavily coated with cloying Korean ketchup.” Ouch! [VV]

Frank Bruni finds Eighty One to be busy, a little vain, but on the whole very good — although he wishes they would ease up with the duos and trios already. Great Bruni line of the week: “[The] oversize red velvet booths that look as if they were carted in from a bordello on some planet where the prostitutes are 12 feet tall.” [NYT]

Amanda Freitag's move from Gusto to the Harrison is now officially a success, as her first major review is a five-star job from Jay Cheshes. Cheshes loves the room and makes a point of praising the “ought-to-be-legendary duck-fat fries with lemony mayo.” [TONY]
Related: Psilakis, Freitag Simultaneously Reinvent Vinegar-Flavored French Fries

Dinner was okay in the early going for Restaurant Girl at Ago, with the pizzas and appetizers doing their job. But then the pastas and proteins came, and with them a string of adjectives — “gamey,” “salty,” “sloppy,” “oily,” and “overcooked” — that reduced the place to a single star. [NYDN]