Burgers Across America, JGV's Soba Joint, Insanely Good Ice Cream?

// Recently Opened //

• Allegretti - Alain Allegretti, the former executive chef of Atelier at the Ritz-Carlton and Le Cirque 2000, has opened this eponymous restaurant. The cuisine is that of Allegretti's native Provence.
• Apiary -This East Village Ligne Roset-furnished space is helmed by Bolo and Bar Americain vet Neil Manacle.
• Braai -A new South African "BBQ Bar and Grill" on 51st street in Hell's Kitchen.
• Vintage Irving - Wine and small plates in a sleek new room on 15th and Irving Place.

// This Week's Restaurant Reviews //

• NY Times: Frank Bruni reviews Matsugen, (3 of 4 stars). Jean-Georges Vongerichten teamed up with the Matsushita brothers to bring, in his words, "pure, clean Japanese flavors" to TriBeCa. The star ingredient: soba. "The noodles -- never too floppy or too firm, yielding at just the right moment to just the right bite -- come in three gradations of weight and texture: rin, which recalls angel hair; seiro, which is also smooth but heavier; and inaka, the roughest and, deliberately, the chewiest." About the restaurant overall, Bruni says, "It has chosen to be more obscure, more pure and more true to Japanese culinary traditions, including some that aren't especially well known beyond connoisseurs of Asian cooking." In Dining Briefs Bruni checks out Harlem newcomer Talay and Julia Moskin dines at Olana.
• New York Magazine: Platt reviews Hundred Acres (1 of 5 stars)  and Forge (1 star) this week pointing out the slightly irritating new trend of restaurants wrapping themselves in "haute barnyard" trappings. Of Hundred Acres he says, "this new venture feels slapdash and slightly cobbled together." Regarding Forge, Platt is the first to give it a negative review saying, "None of the pastas on the ever-changing, yes, "market-driven" menu (soupy agnolotti, oversalted carbonara) quite achieve liftoff, and in the considered opinion of my friend the Pork Loon, the pricey suckling pig for two ($68) tasted "like baked turkey."
• NY Post's Steve Cuozzo visits Matsugen and bestows a positive review, "It's also one-stop shopping for dishes rarely found under a single Japanese roof, and more than enough of them are fabulous enough to stifle my crankiness. This is a place right for its time, priced high and low to straddle the city's fading boom - and perhaps darker days to come."
• The New York Sun: Paul Adams reviews Yerba Buena and reports that the food "packs a ton of excitement into the small space." He notes that chef Julian Medina (Toloache), "grabs attention, with an abundance of creativity and flavor."

// Blogs, Newsletters...etc. //

• Insatiable Critic: Gael Greene blurbs about Delicatessen. At this sceney SoHo eatery Greene is surprised to find, "this grub is good."
• BA Foodist: Andrew Knowlton calls attention to chef-driven burger spots across the U.S.

// Events Around Town //

Learn ice cream making with Van Leewen at the Brooklyn Kitchen on August 20th at 6:30pm. Tickets are $40.