Cru - View this location on map Before Cru's August opening, much of the chatter among food mavens was that no new restaurant could succeed in this Greenwich Village spot where a series of previous ones had failed. Well, Cru may have what it takes to break a curse. Its formidable virtues include an expansive list of more than 3,000 wines, an ebullient wine director who makes it fun and unintimidating to navigate that expanse and a chef, Shea Gallante, whose quasi-Italian, quasi-Spanish, 'modern European' cooking walks a pitch-perfect line between precious and creative, busy and resourceful. The selections of crudo, or raw fish, are inventively and delectably seasoned. The quail and shrimp appetizers and the lobster and lamb entrees are exemplars of beautifully cooked, tender flesh. The dining room is too brown and bright and the desserts are a bit wacky, but the rest of the affair, including first-rate service, more than make up for those disappointments. -- Frank Bruni 24 Fifth Ave., New York, New York Restaurant

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