• The Observer has issued its list of ten top restaurant newcomers. The top three pics include Smith's, Allen & Delancey, and Dovetail. [NYO]

• 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]