Bon Appetit magazine’s September 2007 Restaurant issue features three finalists in a list of quintessential versions of six American classics: pizza, steak, tacos, hamburgers, fried chicken, and ribs. Winner will be announced on the Food Network on Aug. 18 (Good Eats with Alton Brown, 6 and 10 pm CDT). The finalists:

PIZZA: Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix; DiFara Pizza, Brooklyn, NY; Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles
STEAK: Peter Luger Steak House, Brooklyn; Cut, Los Angeles; Doe’s Eat Place, Greenville, Miss.
TACOS: Taco Taco Cafe, San Antonio; Taqueria del Sol, Atlanta; South Beach Bar & Grill, Ocean Beach, Calif.
Hamburgers: Bobcate Bite, Santa Fe, NM; Taylor’s Automatic Refresher, St. Helena, Calif; The Meers Store and Restaurant, Lawton, Okla.
FRIED CHICKEN: Willie Mae’s Scotch House, New Orleans; Price’s Chicken Coop, Charlotte, NC; Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tenn.
RIBS: Charles Vergos Rendezvous, Memphis; 17th Street Bar & Grill, Murphysboro, Ill; Jaspers, Plano, Texas.

The magazine also features favorite restaurant recipes, including: Lucia’s in Minneapolis-St. Paul; Eve in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Dali Restaurant & Tapas Bar in Somerville, Mass.; Binkley’s Restaurant in Cave Creek, Ariz.; Kelly Liken Restaurant in Vail, Colo; Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles; and Park Kitchen in Portland, Ore. … And the mag also features 12 small restaurants and their recipes, including: The Little Owl, New York City; The Good Fork, Brooklyn; La Laiterie at Farmstead, Providence, RI; Cremant, Seattle; Bonne Soiree, Chapel Hill, N.C.; Hatfield’s, Los Angeles; Canteen, San Francisco; Revolver, Findlay, Ohio; Le Pigeon, Portland, Ore; and Komi, Washington, DC. epicurious.com/bonappetit

IN THE NEWS: The New York Times‘ Frank Bruni awards two stars to Suba (109 Ludlow Street), ignores the no-eating-oysters-in-summer rule at Aquagrill, and interviews Tom Colicchio (Craft, Top Chef), who calls Etats-Unis on the Upper East Side the city’s most underrated restaurant. … Peter Meehan considers Shopsin’s General Store (Stall 16 in the Essex Street Market, 120 Essex Street). … The Times reports chef John Fraser has left Compass on the Upper West Side to open his own place, with Neil Annis returning as Compass chef. … The paper notes the openings of Flatiron Joes (29 West 21st St.), Eighth Street Wine Cellar (28 West Eighth St.), Sangria 46 (338 West 46th Street), and Caminito Restaurant (1664 Park Ave.). nytimes.com … The Daily News‘ Irene Sax reviews Cybercafe (250 W. 49th St.). nydailynews.com … The Post’s Steve Cuozzo plugs the Upper West Side, previewing the planned November opening of Bar Boulud (1900 Broadway). nypost … AM New York looks at lunch spots, including Gold St. (2 Gold St). amny.com … The New York Press‘ Gerry Visco reviews Ramen Setagaya (141 1st Ave.), while Joy Wang considers Milk & Honey (134 Eldridge St., www.mlkhny.com) and Cheap Eats visits Go Go Curry (273 W. 38th St.) nypress.com … The New Yorker’s Ligaya Mishan reviews 15 East (15 E. 15th St.). newyorker.com … TimeOut New York reviews East Village Yacht Club (42 E 1st St), Bar Stuzzichini (928 Broadway), and Bodeguita Cubana (271 E 10th St). timeoutny.com … The Sun’s Paul Adams reviews Po Brooklyn (276 Smith St., Brooklyn). … Bret Thorn reports, Top Chef Season 2 contestant Josie Smith-Malave has left Island Restaurant and Lounge (35-15 36th St., Long Island City) to open a restaurant of her own in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. At Island, sous chef Dan Morales has been promoted to chef. … A 45-seat Argentine restaurant, Caminito (1664 Park Ave.), has opened in a space that once was a barbershop used in the Al Pacino movie Carlito’s Way. … The space that once was Shelly’s Prime Steak is now Shelly’s Trattoria La Tradizionale (41 W. 57th St.). nysun.com … Eater.com notes the closings of Funky Diner at 82nd and Columbus, Darna, Red Cafe and Jerry’s, Jerry Joseph’s 20-year old Soho diner. … Gothamist.com visits East Japanese Restaurant (253 W. 55th St), blog.joonbug.com visits The Half Pint and The Volstead. … Andrea Strong’s TheStrongBuzz.com reviews Gemma (The Bowery Hotel, 335 Bowery), notes the new Mitchel London Pizza (456 9th Avenue), and Sea Salt (99 Second Avenue), and reports that chef/owner Alex Urena will close the doors of Urena restaurant after service on Aug. 18 and will reopen it as Pamplona, a casual Basque country bistro, on Sept. 4. … New York magazine reviews Café Cortadito (210 E. 3rd St) and notes the openings of Caminito, and Il Torchio (458 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn). nymag.com

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