“He’s a good man. He’s French. He takes everything too personal. He’ll be fine,” said Sirio.

        In his review, Bruni credited Bellanca with providing “the injection of energy and discipline that Le Cirque needed…The menu nimbly straddles the line between predictable decadence…and creative flair." He went on, "The foie gras ravioli are new, and they’re not merely a triumph of luxury ingredients…The cabbage’s faintly sour notes are a terrific foil for the fatty intensity of so much else in the dish. New, too, is an entree of sautéed John Dory with a mustard sauce that’s zippier than the stolid ablutions with which proudly archaic restaurants like Le Cirque often content themselves…”

        “It’s a friendly divorce,” Sirio repeated, as he interrupted a typical Maccioni rant about tension at the stove. “We served 250 people Saturday night after the chef left and everything was wonderful. We’ll be fine… Everytime we make a change, we just get better.”

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