Best so Far

What’s new that I really love?complex dishes and star chef confidence in the
freshly gussied up space are impressive in a very
Mellisa Dennis books Sfoglia weeks ahead andearly tasting.  I plan to go back.  206 Spring Street
explains the changing menu. Photo: Steven Richternear Sixth Avenue. 212 853 0100.
What’s new and good, all my friends ask? Of allAccademia di Vino.  I never got to taste entrées
the restaurants I’ve written about on sincein two evenings here because I loved the grilled
shortly before we launched, where do I want to eatpizza, salads and pasta so much. Wish it had opened
again? Going backwards chronologically fromin my neighborhood. 1081 Third Av. at 64th St. 212
November 5, 2007...888-6333
Bun.  In the exposed kitchen of this narrow bargainBLT Market. I’ve been back twice on my own
Vietnamese noodle shop, Chef and mini-mogul Michaelcredit card for Laurent Tourondel’s lush and
“Bao” Huynh whirls and dashes…filling ordersdelicious play on seasonal food (though I wished
a la minute for sensational pho with beef andautumn leaves had chased away the sunflowers
sweetbreads, and the duck confit with duck egg andearlier). I’m even getting used to the idea of the
dikon pancake that I can’t stop eating.  A fewRitz Carlton dining room looking like a suburban
steps away his wife Thap Nguyen’s serenelyluncheonette. 1430 Sixth Avenue or 50 Central Park
fashions classic rolls, two by two, for a demandingSouth 212 521 6125
crowd. 143 Grand Street between.Crosby andKefi. I will suffer the annoyance of no reservations,
Lafayette. 212-431-7999.no plastic, crowded tables, and lines out the door for
Irving Mill. Unabashedly flaunting the genes ofthe rustic country classics of Greece from the
Gramercy Tavern, what’s new and exciting istown’s reigning Greek Hero, chef Michael
chef/partner John Schaefer’s delicious food on aPsilakis.  Here is the food that inspired his gentrified
trim but tempting market menu.  Try grilled babyodes in midtown at Anthos (below): cuttlefish stuffed
octopus, savory cockle-and-chorizo stew and arcticwith spinach and beans, mussels with gigante beans,
char on lentils with Savoy cabbage, speck andradicchio and feta, a mellow moussaka. 222 West
cippolini. 116 E. 16th Street between Union Square79th Street near Broadway  212 873 0200
East and Irving Place 212 254 1600
Shorty’s .32.  After twelve years inYes, Yes Yes. That's a burger to savor at Old
Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s kitchens, chefHomestead's sidewalk cafe. Photo: Steven Richter
partner Josh Eden concealed in his own downtown,Prime Burger Café.  I canget a comforting
turns out wonderful cavatelli with arugula and wildhamburger fix steps from my home at Fairway
mushroom ragout, fine braised short ribs servedCafé and a really exceptional burger is as close at
alongside macaroni and cheese of my childhoodBrooklyn Diner.  But I confess, I’ve been
dreams, splendid roast cod in a gruyere broth, and aobsessing about the giant peppered prime beef
burger with crunch-perfect fries. He’s wooing theburger at Old Homestead’s outdoor café since
neighborhood, so no reservations for us. 199 PrinceI first tasted it. 56 Ninth Avenue at 14th Street 212
Street between Sullivan and MacDougal 212 375 8275.242 9040
TBar Steak & Lounge. Tony Fortuna’sInsieme. Craft veteran Chef Marco Canova reaches
recasting of the Lenox Room means a noisy scenebeyond the rustic boundaries of Hearth and
at the bar and impressive steaks, a juicy pork chopdoesn’t rely on bizarre juxtapositions to catch
and no more tasting tiers. He’s got it in his headour attention with his Italian dishes, traditional and
that desserts should come in large crystal bowls andmodern. Don’t miss sensuous baby beef tartare
be big enough for eight to share. Go for chocolateand the sea urchin risotto. 777 Seventh Avenue at
sundae with molten brownie, and the layered banana51st Street.  212 582 1310
parfait mille feuilles. 1278 Third Avenue between 73rdTree. A real find in the East Village for its gently
and 74th. 212 772 0404priced comfort food classics by Gramercy Tavern
Shelly’s La Tradizionale.  Nudged by theveteran Andrew Robinson.  But once the chill closes
mercurial Shelly Fireman, this is now a Ristorante dithe garden, it will be teeny again. 190 First Avenue
Pesci with wonderful and original pastas, sparklingnear 12th Street. 212 358 7171
shellfish, the gorgeous lobster Catalana, and –Daisy May’s BBQ.  The ready-to-go ribs are fine
you shouldn’t starve from lack of beef –but Adam Perry Lang’s luscious couturier
first-rate steaks. 41 West 57th Street between Fifthbarbecued rack of lamb and the addictive fat-riddled
and Sixth Avenues. 212 245 2422short ribs smoked on the bone bring us to his
Primehouse NY. Steve Hanson’s sprawling andambiance-challenged back room as often as our
elegant new steakhouse sticks mostly to the classics,arteries can stand it.  623 Eleventh Avenue, corner
splendidly turned out, with tableside theatrics, aof 46th Street. 212 977 1500.
crowd that loves itself because it’s hot, and anWild Salmon.  I haven’t been back to this
aging room for all the cow sired by Hanson’scelebration of the Northern Pacific since a
own pedigreed bull. 381 Park Avenue South at 27thfriends-and-family tasting with the boss man himself,
Street. 212 824 2600Jeffrey Chodorow.  I might have been snowed by
Park Avenue Autumn. Fall may not be as exciting astoo much attention, but Chef Charles Ramseyer is a
summer in the Stillman clan’s seasonal evolutionserious pro and I was impressed by his variations of
but Chef Craig Koketsu’s has found himself,salmon.  622 Third Avenue at 40h Street. 212 404
and  Richard Leach  manages to show his dessert1700.
mastery without resorting to weirdness.  Try the
wild quail and the venison, now before winter arrivesAnthos blossoms under Chef Michael Psilakis's ardor. 
and turns the place ice white. 100 E.63rd Street.Photo: Steven Richter
(between Lex & Park Ave.) 212-644-1900Anthos. This is the stage for Chef/partner Michael
Toloache Bistro . An earnest Mexican bistro yearnsPsilakis’s obsessive dream - an homage to his
for the big time with Chef/partner Julian Medina’smom’s rustic home cooking, everything Greek
menu skipping around Mexico and beyond. Savorrespun - lighter, more refined, sophisticated, and
huevo ranchero, brisket with tomatillo salsa stuffedtantalizing.
into corn tortillas or baja style hamachi tacos. 251 W.I am especially grateful for the $25 lunch. 36 West
50th Street near Broadway 212 581 181852nd Street near Fifth Avenue. 212 582 6900.
Fiamma.  Chef/partner Fabio Trabocchi’s