North End Grill in NYC; San Francisco's Bar Tartine

Mid-week reviews: Pete Wells gives North End Grill two stars and notes the restaurant "may mark the first time a restaurant has tried to lure New Yorkers by pretending to be in Boston." Ryan Sutton calls Acme, also in New York, "less an ambassador for Denmark’s vibrant food scene as it is an examplar of how willingly Manhattan diners allow themselves to be treated like widgets." Michael Bauer elevates Bar Tartine to "personal benchmark" status now that chef Nicolaus Balla is serving his interpretation of Eastern European cuisine.

New York:
New York Times/Pete Wells: North End Grill, 2 stars
Village Voice/Robert Sietsema: Kaia
New York/Adam Platt: North End Grill, 1 out of 5 stars
Time Out New York/Jay Cheshes: The Bowery Diner, 3 out of 5 stars
Insatiable Critic/Gael Greene: Bar Breton
New Yorker/Lizzie Widdicombe: Caffè Storico
Bloomberg/Ryan Sutton: Acme, 1 star
New York Post/Steve Cuozzo: Loi, 1.5 stars

Chicago:
Time Out Chicago/David Tamarkin: Ombra, 2 stars

San Francisco:
SF Gate/Michael Bauer: Bar Tartine, 3 stars
SF Weekly/Jonathan Kauffman: Hecho

Didn't see your favorite big-city reviewer? Let us know!