The Payoff: L'Artusi

Today, as expected, Frank Bruni “awarded” — we use the term loosely — one star to L’Artusi, a restaurant that no doubt considered itself worthy of two:

At L’Artusi, named for a renowned Italian cookbook writer, Mr. Thompson and his business partner, Joe Campanale, have moved well beyond the bruschetta. They have gone not only bigger — with nearly 115 seats, L’Artusi is more than twice the size of dell’Anima — but also bolder, and the uneven results are a lesson in overextension.

If they turned a more skeptical eye to some of Mr. Thompson’s inventions, edited the menu to about two-thirds its current length and focused harder on the execution of what remained, they’d have an excellent restaurant. As it is, they have a fitfully enjoyable one.

We and Eater both took the one-star odds, and earn $3 on our hypothetical one-dollar bets.

	Eater		NYJ
Bankroll	$109.50		$130.67
Gain/Loss	+3.00		+3.00
Total	$112.50		$133.67
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Won–Lost	52–25		54–23