Critic Roundup: Jean Georges Is Still A Four-Star Restaurant

This week in restaurant news, New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells reviews Jean Georges, which was last reviewed by Frank Bruni of the New York Times in 2006 and given four stars.The verdict: Jean-Georges is still a four-star restaurant.

"The kind of comfort Jean-Georges excels at providing makes some diners distinctly uncomfortable," he says. "Chefs who couldn't peel a banana when Jean-Georges Vongerichten got his first four-star review (for Lafayette, in 1988) now run adventurous, unluxurious dining rooms where people come for the journey and where the thrill of the ride is more important than the condition of the shock absorbers."

In San Francisco, San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer says its very apparent that there's a French owner behind Aquitaine.

"There's something about the comfortable juxtaposition of styles that seems to add a certain je ne sais quoi that is hard to copy," he says.

In Washington, DC, Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema reviews another Italian restaurant on 14th St., Lupo Verde, the only one on the street with a cheese shop on its ground floor.

"So, si, there's an opportunity to nibble on taleggio or Gorgonzola, as well as charcuterie, including bresaola and house-made pancetta, with a glass of Falanghina or Nero d'Avola," he says.

Restaurant Critic Roundup: 4/9/2014

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Haley Willard is The Daily Meal's assistant editor. Follow her on Twitter at @haleywillrd.