Review Preview: Rye

Record to date: 2–2

Say what? Tomorrow, Frank Bruni reviews Rye.

The Skinny: Haven’t heard of Rye? We hadn’t either. A bit of elbow grease with the google got us to the restaurant’s humble website. Apparently its first mention in the Times was just two weeks ago, when it got the full FloFab:

RYE Vintage décor sets the tone in this transformed bodega. There are 10 ryes at the bar, and the chef and co-owner, Cal Elliott, formerly of Dressler, serves inventive American fare: 247 South First Street (Roebling Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718) 218-8047.

We figure that Bruni was already well into his sequence of visits and dropped a hint to her Flo Fabishness that maybe his review shouldn’t be the first time keen-eyed Times readers hear of the place.

Bruni loved Dressler, awarding two stars—which for that kind of place is like winning the lottery. (We liked Dressler too, though we gave it a more realistic one star.) That’s really our only data point, since no other critic has reviewed Rye, and we haven’t seen any food board posts we can rely on.

From the photo on the website, Rye looks like a dressed-down Dressler, which itself is hardly a bastion of formality. Bruni never gives zero stars to obscure places no one has heard of, and we’re hard pressed to believe it gets two when the rest of the city has not yet awakened to it. The menu shows only five entrées, all of which sound like solid neighborhood comfort food.

The Prediction: With the Brunz now in his lame-duck phase, anything is possible. However, we take the safe money this week, and predict that Frank Bruni will award one star to Rye.