• The week in reviews: Sam Sifton of the Times gives Le Relais de Venise L'Entrecôte one star; Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton says Blue Hill "needs work"; Jay Cheshes of TONY has mixed things to say about Ed's Chowder House; Steve Cuozzo visits Ed's, too, giving it 2 1/2 stars out of four; Gael Greene checks out Casa Lever; and GQ's Alan Richman picks his fave fried chicken in NYC.
• Cru, which faced eviction this summer, is back with a new chef/menu. [NYT]
• The Soho Italian spot Piccola Cucina has reopened. [Zagat]
• Bruni's top burger is at Shake Shack; Colicchio picks The Spotted Pig. [TONY]
• Michelle Obama will make a cameo on Iron Chef in January. [NYT]
• Want to lose weight? Try eating tomatoes. [NYDN]

Hey everyone, Barack Obama is having a late lunch at Craftsteak right now! It's the latest of the safe choices the president has made when dining out in our fair city. What do his dining choices say about him?

More accounts from Obama's dinner at Blue Hill in the Village via the Daily News. Choice quote, from one of their co-diners: when they got up to leave, "this blasé New York crowd stood up and exploded in spontaneous applause." [NYDN]