New York's Adam Platt spanks Alain Ducasse's new brasserie Benoit with a zero-star review. Some of his least favorite dishes? The lobster ravioli (a "viscous mess"), cassoulet (tastes like it was "preheated in a microwave"), and the steak tartare ("dressed with enough horseradish to choke a cow.") [NYM]
The Times' Frank Bruni wasn't quite as unhappy, handing over a single star. Bruni found the baguettes "adorable" and the halibut "delicious," but couldn't excuse the place for bungling the "must-ace dish" of roasted chicken. [NYT]
GQ's Alan Richman has about a hundred problems with MacDougal Street's Hundred Acres, number one being the liver and onions dish, which he declares "a disaster." [GQ]
The Post's Steve Cuozzo finds the Upper East Side's new "creative Italian" restaurant Alloro "strange," "perplexing," "adorable," and "often wonderful," and proclaims its five pasta dishes the "best five I've had at any one place this year. " [NYP]
The Daily News' Danyelle Freeman awards Hundred Acres two stars in spite of its "many disappointments," like the olive oil-drenched dandelion salad, which "should be served with a life preserver." [NYDN]
In the Sun, Paul Adams is none too pleased with Cafe Society's "awkward interior" and "mediocre representatives of Italian, Japanese, Chinese, and other cuisines." [NYS]
Jay Cheshes in Time Out declares Scarpetta, Scott Conant's meatpacking Italian restaurant, "the least obnoxious restaurant to open in the neighborhood in years." [TONY]
The Post finds the cocktails at Cobble Hill's "eminently classly" Clover Club "enchanting." [NYP]
