Home » Today’s Food Newsbits: Bruni Expands on Four Stars, A Comical Dinner at El Bulli, Subway Goes Loungy

Today’s Food Newsbits: Bruni Expands on Four Stars, A Comical Dinner at El Bulli, Subway Goes Loungy

August 13, 2009 | By Jennifer Heigl

The food world seemed astonished earlier this week when New York Times restaurant reviewer Frank Bruni unleashed a four-star rating on Danny Meyers’ Eleven Madison Park. With previous two and three star ratings, the highly regarded food aficionado awarded an additional star to the New York establishment, commenting that it’s “the best restaurant Danny Meyer has ever operated.”

In response to the collective foodie surprise, Bruni followed up his initial review with more thoughts on the four-star rating, expounding on his reasoning for the additional star while discussing others who have missed the ‘Extraordinary’ mark.

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Adam Roberts, the Amateur Gourmet, trekked all the way to Spain to dig in at Ferran Adria’s El Bulli, the best restaurant in the world as rated by Restaurant Magazine. While you’re lucky to get a few photos with restaurant reviews, Roberts takes it to a whole new level, offering his review in beautiful visual format, from video to comic book-inspired graphics. Check out the fabulous El Bulli coverage here!

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Oh, Orange County! You’re always trying to one-up the rest of the country! Out of the OC – a local Subway owner has renovated his location’s dining room to include a fireplace, sofas, and flat-screen TVs. Owner Alex Chandok, who operates three Subways in Orange County, wanted to update the space to alter the sandwich chain’s standard ‘dine-and-go’ feel. Chandok set out to create a ‘lounge’ feel for his third location in an effort to encourage diners to stay and enjoy their meals.

“The Subway concept is quick. Pick up your sandwich and get out,” said Alex. “I want to give a message for people that it is a family place where you can relax and eat anytime.”

Subway headquarters have taken notice of the new concept and are planning to incorporate the cozier feel into new stories opening in Orange and Los Angeles counties.

~Jennifer Heigl