Four Stars for Marea Tonight?

After laying a big fat deuce on DBGB's last week in his first review as NYT food critic, Sam Sifton is about to deliver his second star rating to Marea, Michael White and Chris Cannon's pricey Central Park South Italian seafood joint. Now, conventional wisdom says that Marea is a lock for three stars -- the food, dining room and service are certainly all there, and many, many critics have already awarded it three stars or the equivalent. So, sure, Marea, three stars, that's the safe bet. But, for one second, could we consider, just consider, the possibility that Marea might join The Four Star Club Tonight? Hear me out, people:
[bxA]
I think Sifton's two star review of DGBG's skewed WAY too high. I know I'm in the minority here, but I was really underwhelmed by the place on my only visit. Sure, its possible I was there on an off night, but of the many dishes my party tried, about half were totally off, and the other half showed the potential to be a lot better. The food was, however, the thing that Sifton liked the most in his review. So, maybe, Sifton is easy when it comes to food. If that's true, than Marea might blow.his.mind.

More importantly, though, I can't help but feel like a four star Marea review might be the perfect strategical opportunity to let the Siftonator gain gravitas in the food world. In the weeks counting down to Bruni's departure, the odds were that it might be his last review, maybe even the first new four star restaurant to come about of his tenure (turns out EMP got that honor). By the time Bruni filed his last review, every big critic had already reviewed the place months before. It sort of seems like the times dining section put the Marea review aside for Sifton, maybe so that he could have a big moment early on. While a three star review might not raise his profile much, a four star review might even get people that don't read food blogs to take notice of Sam Sifton, the new NYT food critic. Also, understanding Marea's price point, a four star review might be an opportunity to suggest something about an economic up swing where fine dining is concerned. A lot of Bruni's four star EMP review revolved around its value. Marea is an old school expensive restaurant, and maybe a four star would be a way of saying that its time that we start thinking about these kind of places a bit more. Also, would anybody in the food world really complain about letting Marea join the four star club?

I'm calling it (perhaps foolishly) on a four star. He's bald. He likes hip hop. He's Sam Sifton, and he's the new sheriff in town.