Dining Reviews

Per Se, Ramsay Alums Bring Heat, Sodium Blitzkrieg to Recette Recette serves supermodel-friendly small plates and rewards the fashionably layered.

El Bulli Move Over -- Noma’s Culinary Challenge: Richard Vines Food lovers around the world who fret over their inability to get a table at El Bulli might do a lot worse than hop on a plane to Denmark and try Noma instead.

Joss Stone Vamps, Kahlo Meets Wrestlers: Great Brussels Weekend Shed your weekly woes with a soothing dose of minimalist culture at a Friday “vernissage,” or opening, in the Wiels arts center, Brussels.

Lily Raps With Dizzee, Dealers Outwitted: Great London Weekend Wrap up your week with a pair of New York art dealers who get tricked by a visiting conman.

Bankers’ Demand Outstrips City Eatery L’Anima: London Food Buzz L’Anima is to close temporarily in August because the restaurant in London’s City financial district is expanding to accommodate increasing numbers of diners as the economy recovers. The front will be demolished and extended to increase the capacity of the dining room and bar by 40 percent.

Heston Blumenthal, Delia Smith Form Unlikely Culinary Alliance Heston Blumenthal and Delia Smith are teaming up to become ambassadors for Waitrose food stores in the most unlikely of U.K. culinary alliances.

Prime Meats Battles Peter Luger, Minetta in NY Steakhouse Wars Prime Meats may be bringing the steak wars back to Brooklyn. It’s a win for nostalgia in this New York borough where “too cool” is quickly replacing “old school.”

Cipriani’s London Eatery Seeks Administration, Will Change Name Cipriani (Grosvenor Street) Ltd., the owner of a family restaurant in London, filed for administration to protect its assets while it appeals a court ruling that it must change its name.

TV Chef Raymond Blanc Breaks His Leg in Fall at Home (Update1) Raymond Blanc, the chef whose cooking series “Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets” is currently being screened on BBC Two, fell down the stairs at his home in Oxford this morning and broke his leg in five places.

Darroze Loses Michelin Star; Languedoc Restaurant Gains Third Helene Darroze loses the second star for her Paris restaurant and an establishment in the Languedoc region gains its third star in the Michelin Guide to France 2010, which will be published this week.

Great N.Y. Weekend: Mayer, Wild Beasts, ‘Yank!’ Food, Mixology Foolishness often happens when John Mayer speaks, but the man can play his guitar --everything from electrifying Hendrix covers to his own moony ballads. Some tickets are still available for the second of his two New York shows as he continues touring in the wake of his latest CD, the aptly named “Battle Studies.”

Chef Blanc Shudders at Square Fish, U.K. Food: Richard Vines It’s just after 9:30 a.m. and Raymond Blanc’s staffers are nervous. The French-born chef is just sitting down for an interview at his Oxfordshire restaurant -- Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons -- and he has a lunchtime appointment in London.