Review Preview: Faustina

“This guy is hard to nail down.” Thus sayeth Eater.com in today’s edition of Sift Happens. Six months into Sam Sifton’s tenure as New York Times restaurant critic, nobody can figure the guy out.

Tomorrow, Sifton reviews Scott Conant’s Faustina, which was built on the husks of the failed Table 8. The Eater oddsmakers have set the action as follows: Goose Egg: 15–1; One Star: 2–1; Two Stars: 3–1; Three Stars: 15–1; Four Stars: 500–1.

We liked Faustina, giving it two stars, but that means nothing to Sifty, whose ratings have been all over the map. Early critics have been down on Faustina, but with Conant fine-tuning the menu, those earlier reviews might not be relevant.

A one-star review won’t surprise us, but with Conant giving Sifton the white-glove treatment, we’ll lay our bets on two stars.