Four Stars for Eleven Madison Park

Congrats to Danny Meyer, Chef Humm and The Union Square Hospitality Group on Eleven Madison Park's four star review today in The New York Times. This is the first four star review in 23 years for Danny Meyer. Eleven Madison Park is now one of only six restaurants in the city with a four star rating from the Times. Cheers all around. [bxA]

Four Stars for Eleven Madison Park Tomorrow?

Well, this is honestly something of a surprise. Frankie Big Boi Bruni is revisiting Elven Madison Park for his penultimate review. While the choice of EMP is not a surprise -- Bruni has been seen dining there several times in the past few months -- the fact that this is his second to last review, and his second review of a Danny Meyer restaurant in two weeks, does seem a bit strange. [bxA]I honestly thought that Bruni would save EMP for his last review and file in on Marea tomorrow. Now I don't even think we can be certain that he will review Marea next week. I mean, would he really go out with a review of a restaurant that every other critic has already filed a rave for? I think for his last review he might choose something small and under the radar, if for no other reason than it would give him an opportunity to speak to how much the dining world has changed during his tenure with the Times. That being said, I am almost certain that he is going to give Eleven Madison Park four stars tomorrow. Here's why:

• Bruni loves it. He's reviewed EMP twice already, and he might want to give it the fourth star to show how it has progressed since its opening -- a progression which happened exclusively during his tenure with the Times.

• He robbed Danny Meyer of a star last week with his review of Union Square Cafe. Adding a star to EMP would restore the karmic balance between New York's greatest restauranteur and its greatest food critic.

• This would only be the second time in five years that Bruni crowned a restaurant with its fourth star. Masa was the first, but the other members of the Four Star Club -- Le Bernadin, Per Se, Jean Georges and Daniel -- already had their four stars when Bruni passed through; he just confirmed their four star status.

• By adding Eleven Madison Park to this elite list of four star restaurants, Bruni would be anointing one of the more reasonably priced, less established fine dining restaurants in New York. He's a democratic man, with an eye towards value -- EMP is exactly in line with his sensibility where price is concerned. Well, we'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, to satiate your cravings for any and all things Bruni, here is a new photo of the man that was just released today (he's on the left).

Frank Bruni Takes a Star Away From Union Square Cafe

Today Frank Bruni filed his third to last review for the Times, with a two-star for Union Square Café. The first Danny Meyer restaurant, USC is also one of his most beloved, and today it lost a star from the three star rating it was awarded by William Grimes back in 1999. It sounds like Bruni really wanted to keep the star count at three, but that amongst the excellent meals he enjoyed at USC, there were indeed a few mediocre ones. So, two stars it is. The review is, however, a treat, and he really pays props to Danny Meyer and his noble career-long efforts to make sure his customers get what they want.

So, with one review down and two to go, the question is- which restaurants will Bruni choose for his last two reviews? I’m calling it now: next week, we’ll get a three-star of Marea. The week after that,I think we’re going to get that fabled, mythical, four-star review bestowed upon Eleven Madison Park. We know he’s been eating at EMP lately, and we know he loves it. Also, what better way to restore dignity to the Danny Meyer empire than to give the restaurateur’s classy, brassy, youngest child the respect it finally deserves? The message upon leaving would be “sure, Union Square Café is great, but times have changed and – BAMN! – Eleven Madison Park is the new best restaurant in New York. The king has left the building.”