L'Apicio Gets a Star

Pete Wells awards one star to L'Apicio, Joe Campanale and Epicurean Management's fourth venture. With dell'anima, L'Artusi, and Anfora each intimately sized and all in the West Village, L'Apicio breaks the mold in size and location. The 180-seat space opened on the ground level of a new condominium building on East 1st Street in the East Village, but that hasn't stopped the clientele from filing in in droves since the restaurant opened in October.

In his review, Wells finds the polenta alla spianatora "good enough to anchor a meal at L'Apicio." "The polenta dishes," he continues, "along with most of the pastas and appetizers, are handled so expertly that it almost doesn’t matter that L’Apicio’s grasp of the main courses is much less steady." A few marks were missed along the way, but the solid one-star review left Wells writing, "Many restaurateurs would like the secret to making people take up an imperfect restaurant the way New Yorkers have already taken up L’Apicio."

Former Employee Arrested and Charged in Soldera Vandalism

[soldera.it] the manItaly's daily Corriere della Sera reports today that a former employee is responsible for vandalizing the Soldera estate on December 2nd. The ex-employee broke in sometime late Sunday night, early Monday morning, and drained over 60,000 liters of aging Brunello spreading 6 vintages; 2007 - 2012. Reports say the 39-year-old, who has not been identified, commited the act of vandalism because he was angry he hadn't been provided with lodging on the Soldera estate.

The news was revealed today at a press conference held in Siena with both Fabrizio Bindocci, president of the Brunello producers association, and Siena mayor Silvio Franceschelli attending. Franceschelli and Bindocci wrote, "The evidence submitted confirmed what has already been expressed by the Consortium," reaffirming that is was a "cowardly deed, unspeakable, and totally foreign to the culture and values of Montalcino." [DoBianchi] [Corriere]

Sandy Benefit Tomorrow Night at Pork Slope

Dale Talde and co. have put together a fund raiser to benefit Hurricane Sandy victims. Tomorrow night, December 18th, from 9pm - 2am, comedian Wyatt Cenac (former Daily Show correspondent) will be behind the bar with owner John Bush and resident Pork Slope bartender Phil McNamara. All tips and sales of the "Slippery Slope" special running tomorrow night will go to the Brooklyn Recovery Fund. The special is a shot of Jameson and a can of Blue Point Toasted Lager. For $20, you can buy into a raffle for the chance to win two tickets to the February 5th Nets vs. Lakers game at Barclays Center. All proceeds from the raffle will also go to the BRF. The Roots drummer Questlove will be there to DJ a late night set too. It's a win win.

Eat the Week; Dec 10th - 14th

Robert Parker sells the Wine Advocate to a group of investors in Singapore | Our First Bite of the $39, five-course tasting at Pig and Khao | Pete Wells awards Royal Seafood Restaurant an enthusiastic star | The Lounge at Atera opens | Saul Bolton's new restaurant Red Gravy opens and Runner & Stone will open Wednesday | Donde Dinner? - 106 Lexington Ave

Donde Dinner? - 106 Lexington Ave

Donde Dinner? wants to make your next dining experience an adventure. So, every Friday, we'll pick a restaurant and post its address for you. The catch is, that's all the information you get. No name, no type of cuisine, and no Googling. Last week's address sent you to:

59 Grand Street = Lucky Strike

Keith McNally opened Lucky Strike in 1989. The restaurant was forced to close after Hurricane Sandy, and last Friday was the grand reopening.

This week's restaurant follows typical Donde Dinner? fashion. Price, quality, and accessibility have all taken into account, so you won't be waiting at the bar for two hours with $15 cocktails and you don't have to worry about a dress code. Just hop on the train, or your feet, or your bike, and head to:

106 Lexington Avenue (btwn 27th and 28th)

Red Gravy Opens Tonight; Runner & Stone to Open Wednesday

The paper is still on the windows at Red Gravy, Saul Bolton's third Brooklyn project (after Saul and the Vanderbilt), but that'll come down within the next couple of hours. Red Gravy opens tonight at 5pm. The restaurant will be in "soft opening" mode through the weekend, but you can expect the crowds to start showing up to 151 Atlantic Avenue very soon.

A handful of antipasti, a few primi, segundi, contorni, and charcuterie make up the menu. There's also piatti del giorno that run Monday through Sunday. Sunday's special is "Sunday Gravy." Something tells us it's going to be pretty, pretty, pretty good. The full menu is available online.

Red Gravy | 151 Atlantic Avenue | 718.885.0051 | www

Runner & Stone is another from the BK Taste of Tastes to Come list and they're opening next Wednesday, the 19th, at 7am. For that Wednesday and the following Thursday, the 20th, the restaurant/bar/bakery from ex Per Se head baker Peter Endriss and Blue Ribbon chef de cuisine Chris Pizzulli will be open from 7am - noon. Dinner will kick off Friday, the 21st, at 5pm.

The dinner menu is about a dozen selctions deep, with a few pastas and entrees following apps like grappa-cured striped bass and short rib soup. There's a red cabbage gnocchi with smoked sausage and grana padano and spaghetti alla chitarra with a conch ragu. The mains are pretty straight forward: "Braised Lamb Breast," "Pancetta-Wrapped Blackfish," "Roasted Chicken," and "Grilled Ribeye." No prices online, but we're expecting them to be similar to the Pines across the street. Endriss put his touch on the dolci, so you probably don't want to skip dessert here. The breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus are all available online.

Runner & Stone | 285 Third Avenue | 718.576.3360 | www

Subterranean Lounge at Atera Booze

[melissa horn for grub street] lounge at ateraThe Lounge at Atera opened Tuesday night beneath Matthew Lightner's 18-seat chef's counter in TriBeCa. The new bar brings 12 more seats to Lightner's operation and will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 630pm - 11pm. Reservations are available by email only (thelounge@ateranyc.com) and a few of the limited spots will be reserved on a nightly basis for guests dining upstairs.

Wines by the glass, beer, and cocktails are all on offer at the subterranean drink den. Lightner told the Times he wanted the cocktails to "match philosophically with the food." The cocktail list is the combined effort of Lightner and the Atera team, which includes former Weather Up TriBeCa bartender Brandon Duff. The Winter Walnut (rye, navy strength rum, walnut liqueur, honey, and orange bitters) and the Old Fashioned Ale (served warm with brandy, ale, lemon, ginger, cream, and egg yolk) are sure to keep guests warm in the ensuing winter months. We can't wait to get our gullets on the Strato; fernet, cream, and coffee. Cocktails are priced between $15 and $18. [DinersJournal] [GrubStreet]

Lounge at Atera | 77 Worth Street (btwn Church and Broadway) | 212.226.1444 | www

One Glowing Star for Royal Seafood Restaurant, Jake

A few days after Hurricane Sandy, Pete Wells wrote "Why Downtown Needs Diners Now." The article pays homage to the southern end of Manhattan, where power was out for six days. "Chinatown alone is worth fighting for," he wrote, and in his favorable one-star review of Chinatown's Royal Seafood Restaurant today, he has this to say of a particular visit, "This was a week after the hurricane and a few days after the lights had come back on in downtown Manhattan. Chinatown was on my mind."

Wells highlights a dish he notices is not on any menu, but is on every table. He explains, "Chinatown veterans look around the dining room to see what others are eating." At Royal Seafood Restaurant, the answer is lobster. "It was hacked into sections and wok-fried with a sticky, time-honored Cantonese sauce of scallions and slivers of ginger."

The Times critic offers some advice for those looking to dine at RSF in the future, "The best strategy: sit on an aisle unless you speak some Cantonese. Tables are jammed together, and sitting too far from the trolleys puts you at risk of missing a favorite dumpling." "You can order from the menu all day," he continues, "but the best time to explore it is by night, when the dining room and presumably the kitchen are less frantic."