It's the kitchen's famed sauce, made with tomatoes stewed for hours, that keeps folks coming back for more. Ladled over steamed, fried, or raw seafood, the sauce's chile heat creeps to a low rumble.
Order a Gargiulo burger here. Credit goes to the Russo brothers of Coney Island's Gargiulo's, who first plunked a helping of roast beef onto their cheeseburgers before dipping them in jus.
Hit this place at 10:30 a.m. if you want to see the gathering of regulars. A morning trip also ensures that your favorite doughnut flavor won't have run out.
Order at Di Fara and walk around the corner to sibling Italian comfort food restaurant MD Kitchen. Because what makes a 2 hour wait for bread, sauce, and cheese better? Shrimp parmigiana heroes.
ALL CAPS; This alluring elixir evokes the pristine, pine-imbued essence of springtime in the high Alps. Muddled rosemary & Zirbenz, an aromatic Swiss liqueur — play with spicy American rye. Read more.
Fools Gold's more than 30 taps pour rare suds from all over the world, and the back bar holds more than 80 rare expressions of American whiskey. Read more.
When dining solo, sit at J.G. Melon’s wooden bar and enjoy an outstanding hamburger and blood mary. J.G. is cozy and casual, and no one here will bother you. Read more.
The food is impeccable and the atmosphere is just right. With friendly staff and an informal air, the large wooden bar is the ideal place to grab a negroni, some antipasti, and saddle up for the night Read more.
Go for the Palermo pie: a weighty, crisp Sicilian square with melted mozzarella smothered in a sweet caramelized onion and chunky tomato sauce! Read more.
This is a real neighborhood staple! Go outside and you'll frequently find Jeffrey, the head sushi chef, making friends. Momo is on our list of Top 10 Restaurants in Bushwick. Read more.
While pizza is the obvious choice, brunch dishes -- like cornmeal pancakes and various takes on hash -- are also worth a special trip. Read more.
Birch Coffee opens in the Upper East Side. Offering coffee, pastries, juices, a book lending library, & conversation cards. Read more.
Totonno's sports the best fresh mozzarella of any pizzeria in town. That this cheese is a little soupy, making the pie damp, is fine with us. Just grab a fork! Read more.
The menu features classic Italian-American dishes such as baked lasagna, shrimp scampi, fettucine alfredo, saltimbocca, veal Parmigiana and Italian sausage. Read more.
Avra has some good homemade classics, but the focus is on an extensive menu of fresh seafood that ranges from octopus to jumbo shrimp to swordfish and the unusual grilled sardines. Read more.
The typical Italian artisanal loaves have thick, robust crusts and chewy or airy insides, like the pane Pugliese. Read more.
Casa Calamari is the last of the great focaccerias--originally, stand-up snack shops in Sicily offering a combination of seafood and fresh vegetables in various guises. Read more.
The broccoli rabe hero--liberally dotted with caramelized garlic--is one of the city's great vegetarian sandwiches. Read more.
Meaty entrees include the brined, braised and roasted pork shank, sausage platter with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes, and thinly pounded pork schnitzel. Read more.
Any of the salad choices is superb, especially the so-called knife and fork Caesar salad, which has a transportingly good vinaigrette, and huge, cheese-embedded croutons. Read more.
The lamb schnitzel sings with flavor, and you get two massive slabs poised on a potato salad zapped with French grebiche sauce, laced with mustard and capers. Read more.
Chicken is the focus here, skewered and grilled in a wide variety of forms. Read more.
We especially dug the bruschetti of lardo and ramps, and a deceptively simple dish of perfectly grilled asparagus garnished with pecorino and ham. And it's BYOB! Read more.
The rest of the menu consists of seafood dishes with a global influence: yellowfin tuna sliders, Peruvian tilapia filets served with leeks, shiitakes and ginger, a shellfish bouillabaisse and more. Read more.
The lobster roll is pretty damn good, two buttery buns stuffed with mayo-smothered chunks of lobster and served with hot French fries. Read more.
Highly recommended is the hui mei with spicy brisket sauce, which might almost remind you of a European stew. Read more.
The most shareable dish is “spicy big tray chicken,” a humongous pile of poultry enriched with mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns. Read more.
For a taste of luxury order a platter from the raw bar or charcuterie and cheeses. Read more.
It's not a hotel. Meaning you can't stay overnight. But you can easily spend a night at this old-timey parlor whiling away the hours over cocktails and oysters. Read more.
