How soon is too soon?
It has been about six weeks since Chef Stefano Frigerio, the former sous chef from Maestro, joined Mio and called in fellow Maestro alum Nick Fragelli Stefanelli. As has been noted, the restaurant has had many staff changes in its short history and gone through a lot of turmoil. And because of that, most food writers, including myself, have abstained from making much comment about the restaurant. There’s no question that it is a charming space, though perhaps not in the easiest of locations. And I am sure many a person may have wandered into Il Mulino mistakenly due to the slight similarity between the names.

Therefore, it was quite surprising to go to the Post and see that Tom Sietsema has reviewed the restaurant. I don’t get the sense that six weeks is quite enough time for a chef to settle in, especially in a kitchen that already has a staff. This is not to say that Chef Frigerio does not merit the 2.5 star rating that he received, just that perhaps given a little more time, he could have achieved even more.

We have already seen some problematic evidence of Tom Sietsema’s drive to review quickly, particularly with his downgrading of Brasserie Beck in the short months between his initial review and his Dining Guide. As Don Rockwell has commented before, “The biggest favor Tom Sietsema and Todd Kliman can do for the dining public would be to take their sweet time in issuing their reviews and star ratings for this restaurant. The days of scooping the internet are over, but what the major publications have is the ability to be the definitive reviews of record, the reviews that will be sitting on the windows of the restaurant in 2010. That is a big, big responsibility, and one that should not be rushed just to get the story out first.” This responsibility is most apparent for someone who saves up for a meal at that hot, new place, and it turns out to not be so hot.