Szechuan Gourmet is hot, hot, hot, says Frank Bruni, and he likes it that way — so much so that he gave the place two stars. “It’s fickle, tricky, fierce. It can light a match to your tongue, numb your lips, snap you to attention and do a job on your stomach that lasts a good long while.” [NYT]

Paul Adams gives one of his most enthusiastic reviews in a long time to Haute Barnyard newcomer Hundred Acres. Listen to this! “Hundred Acres is impressive, the kind of place where ‘seasonal’ isn't just a buzzword, but where you actually look forward to returning season after season to see what new ideas are blossoming.” [NYS]

Jay Cheshes, on the other hand, wasn't as impressed by the place. He's skeptical of the whole approach, and the food he found “pretty as a picture and mostly boring as heck.” [TONY]

Benoit misses the mark on one note after the other, but a few dishes pleased Frank Bruni enough for the place to earn a single star. Bruni suspects that Alain Ducasse's heart just isn't in the place, and he's not the only one. [NYT]
Related: Faux French [NYM]

Steve Cuozzo goes hog wild for the quirky, two-week-old Alloro, which served him five of the best pastas he's had all year. [NYP]

Sarah DiGregoiro paints the East Village's Persimmon as a cheaper, more accessible alternative to Ko. And who wouldn't want that? While admitting the place lacks Ko's “experimental edge,” her review of Persimmon's food verges on rapture. [VV]
Related: Kimchic [NYM]

Note to restaurateurs: It's generally a good policy, when Frank Bruni comes into your place, not to pour wine all over the table, make him wait an hour, stick his friend behind a column, and send him waiters who don't know what's on the menu. Because that's how Ago earned a zero-star review from him. [NYT]

Alan Richman is the first major critic to file on Scarpetta and has only the most glowing things to say about Scott Conant's “refined, clean-cut, extraordinarily poised, modern Italian-American cuisine.” A big win for Scarpetta, even though Richman does call out the restaurant for being noisy. [GQ]

Restaurant Girl hits Benoit and, after paying the requisite tribute to its provenance, gets around to saying that the food there is completely unexceptional in every way. Its two stars seem like a gift. [NYDN]