Adour, Bagatelle, Bar Blanc, Bar Boulud, Persephone, Sakae Sushi

RECENTLY OPENED

Adour
Bagatelle
Bar Blanc
Bar Boulud
Bar Veloce (rerun)
Padre Figlio
Persephone
Sakae Sushi

OPENING SOON

Mia Dona
Sheridan Square
Commerce
Bar Tano
Cognac
The Red Head
Toby's Public House

THIS WEEK'S RESTAURANT REVIEWS

The New York Times
Frank Bruni: "Ilili is Beirut by way of Istanbul and Athens and even Barcelona: a broad swath of the Mediterranean comes into play, though the tropes, scents and seasonings of the Middle East remain squarely in the foreground."  (1 of 4 stars)

Peter Meehan visits Abraco Espresso and Julia Moskin checks out Community Food and Juice.

New York Magazine
Adam Platt 2 of 5 stars Bar Blanc, "The three house pastas (particularly a wheel of lasagne made with minced lamb, and a bowl of orecchiette with braised rabbit) are worth the price of admission" and likens Brasserie 44 (0 of 5 star) to , " a run-of-the-mill breakfast joint in some mid-level Hong Kong business hotel."

Bloomberg
This week Ryan Sutton visits 2 spots; Chop Suey (Zak Pelaccio/Will Goldfarb) and more than likes everything about it, except for desserts which he called, "not up to speed." Second entry is about Soba Totto, the sister restaurant to Yakitori Totto. About the unfamiliar foods served at this Itzakaya, "Totto looks like a sushi bar. Except the chefs wield sticks of land-roving flesh. They lay the morsels atop a charcoal grill. They sprinkle salt here. Pepper there. Everyone watches. I salivate. Ask for a seat at the blond counter. Order meat. Lots of it."

Time Out: Reviews Momofuku Noodle Bar now that they're in their new space (4 out of 6 stars)
NY Observer: Belcourt (1 out of 4 stars) likes the atmosphere more than the food.
The New Yorker: Positive review for the Theatre district's, Omido.
The New York Post: Steve Cuozzo reviews Chop Suey and says that it, "is actually not terrible. It is, in fact, very good, if you don't mind radioactive-orange seats that look more '60s than '00s."
The New York Sun: Paul Adams gives a mixed, yet erring on the side of negative, review of Bun.
Village Voice: Robert Sietsema reviews Peter's Since 1969.

BLOGS AND NEWSLETTERS

Gothamist: Secret take-out menu at Pamplona
Augieland has a few choice words about his dinner at Adour
Ed Levine: Perhaps inspired by the insipid weight watchers campaign, "Live or Diet" Ed has embarked on the "Ed Levine Serious Diet." In our opinion, a diet better than anything WW or Jenny Craig could propose. Ed is on week 4 and notes it as, the toughest week yet. We're with you Ed.
Daily Candy: wants their share of pancakes this weekend at Clinton St. Baking Co. & Restaurant 
Rare Daily : puts up "The Ultimate Valentine's Day Dining Guide"
NYCnosh writes up East Japanese restaurant - the one next door to Yakitori Totto
Andrea Strong: reviews Seymour Burton, "I left Seymour Burton very happy that I had come again."

EVENTS AROUND TOWN

To do now...
Cassolet is cooking in the upstairs and downstairs fireplaces at Savoy. This yearly tradition is on until end of Feb.

Looking ahead...
Sun Feb 10th at the Beard House: Valentine's tea featuring 8 great NYC chefs like, the women of Little Giant and Gramercy Tavern pastry chef, Nancy Olson. $75 for members, $95 for non-members