Pasquale Jones is Charlie Bird with pizza, and that’s why we love it so much.

An absolute classic. It hardly gets better than L’Artusi, and that’s been the case for a long time.

Carbone is red sauce Italian restaurant theater, and it’s a show you shouldn’t miss. This is one of New York City’s absolute best restaurants.

Universally appealing, consistently excellent, and one of our favorite places in all of NYC.

Most everything on the menu at Charlie Bird is fantastic. They do service and wine better than almost anyone else.

Clay is an American restaurant in Harlem that’s perfect for a special-but-not-too-formal dinner with a date or your family.

I Sodi serves excellent, classic Italian food and is a place where you’ll want to become a regular.

Whatever your restaurant need, Lil Frankie’s can probably solve it. This is the ultimate utility player.

Frankies is a tiny, cozy joint with simple Italian cooking, and the food is pretty damn great.

Lupa is an ideal spot for that early-in-the-week dinner in Greenwich Village that you sort of want to cancel but can’t.

Danny Meyer’s Gramercy Park Roman Italian restaurant is better than we initially thought, especially for a date or an upscale brunch.

Il Posto Accanto in the East Village is home to some of the best meatballs and pastas in town. Plus, it has a great wine list and open air dining.

Misi is the pasta-focused restaurant from the people behind one of our all-time favorite Brooklyn restaurants, Lilia.

Even though it might not be the coolest of the East Village Italian restaurants, Lavagna is right up there with the best.

A cash only, no reservations, popular East Village Italian establishment.

An import from Nantucket, Sfoglia is one of the few Upper East Side joints that, if transported to downtown, wouldn’t feel out of place.