A few months ago, I was ready to post a Tuesday evening review of Upper West Side newcomer Eighty One when HungryMan walked into the room and asked, “Have you seen the Times tonight?” I knew precisely what he was implying: We had been scooped by Bruni. We read the review and, largely agreeing with the two-star assessment, put our own post into suspended animation until a few further visits brought us new information and inspiration. Which brings us to this weekend, when we both decided that it was time to revisit Eighty One, albeit in a format that uses our earlier photos along with some old and some new thoughts on Chef Edward Brown’s little side-street gem.

1. Both Brown and chef de cuisine Juan José Cuevas take seasonality seriously. Not only does the menu change very frequently, as you would expect in a moderately expensive Modern American restaurant with access to excellent markets, but prices change to reflect seasons as well–and not just in an upwards direction; this summer’s calamari á la plancha, for example, dropped from $17 in April to $16 this month.

2. The interior, with its saturated, sometimes gaudy colors, does suffer from overly bright lighting that creates an effect better suited to a big-box retailer than a dining room. Easily fixed with a sturdy dimmer switch.

3. When we first visited, we found the wine list to be a little too unfocused, on the whole, and this has not changed in the past few months. At the same time, the restaurant offers a very respectable selection of Spanish wines, including a few Toros and Catalayuds, and we would love to see this emphasis expanded–it is the list’s strongest suit.

4. Pastas, like the gnocchi with carrots and ramps (pictured top, $15) and the raviolis ($17-18) are among the best dishes at Eighty One–tender and cooked to yield the tiniest resistance in the mouth, they are sauced beautifully and left us wishing they were served in larger portions.

5. Speaking of portions, the Times review describes Eighty One’s occasionally recurring ‘tasting collection’ as a list of featured dishes, when it is really a grouping of medium-sized plates that fit somewhere between starters and mains. One of these, the arctic char with Osetra caviar (pictured above left, $39) comes with an entrée-sized price tag, but it is too small to constitute a main. Too bad, as we would happily give up half our portion of the golden caviar in exchange for a fatter tranche of the lush and zesty fish.

6. Cod–if you are not boycotting it–is worth a try. Offered early in the season with lentils and couscous (pictured above right, $29) and currently with potatoes and salty sopressata ($32), the fillets are always flaky and moist inside.

7. Bruni’s criticism of the restaurant’s penchant for doubling and tripling the preparations of each dish seems to have hit its mark, as Brown and Cuevas no longer offer their dishes more than one way. Gone are the duos and trios of lamb, and in their place are more confidently prepared meat dishes such as the rich and flinty black angus sirloin (pictured on Flickr, $38) and the Colorado lamb with chard ($39).

8. Eighty One is very fortunate to have John Miele in charge of pastry; his deconstructed, Bauhaus chocolate and hazelnut millefeuille (pictured above left, $12) was probably the best chocolate dessert we ate in a restaurant this spring. His fruit desserts aren’t too shabby either, especially his frozen citrus soufflé with lemongrass panna cotta (pictured on Flickr, $12), served with a terrific little scooplet of blood orange sorbet.

8+1. Cocktails, while pricey ($13-14), are fantastic, especially the aromatic Down For Brown and the Star 81, an unlikely concoction of Pimm’s No. 1 Cup, sake, anise, sparkling sweet white wine, and peach bitters that tastes like the signature drink Michelle Yeoh’s Bond femme fatale should have been sipping in Tomorrow Never Dies. Better, because the restaurant is part of the adjoining Excelsior Hotel, it is easy to find a spot to sit and have a drink, even if you do not intend to eat a full meal. As a result, Eighty One winds up achieving everything the Royalton’s Brasserie 44 tried so hard to do–and if that is not enough, they made it look easy.

Eighty One, 45 West 81st Street (near Columbus Avenue), 212-873-8181.