Vic's

If you eat at restaurants a lot, you might keep some sort of running list of them. If you eat in restaurants as much as we do, you might keep many lists of them. Or maybe you’re one of those people who just keeps everything saved in your brain like a human hard drive. Want to trade brains?

Our lists range from “New Places To Try ASAP” to “Old Places You Want To Go Back To” to “Places To Go When It Feels Like There Is Nothing Good In The World.” Then there’s the list that Vic’s has a spot on: “Easy Places That Aren’t Bad.”

It might not be the most exciting category, but back-pocket utility restaurants are important. Vic’s is the sort of spot that saves you when you’ve agreed to meet a friend for dinner somewhere not too far from Union Square, and she suggested The Smith but you’ve been to The Smith way too many times. Or when you’re meeting an early-in-the-game date and you want a bar move where you could also eat something. Or when you somehow convince yourself to go to a workout class on a Saturday, and want to eat something afterwards without having to change or deal with a two-hour wait. To be clear, this is a place where it’s only borderline acceptable to wear your sweaty tank top, but you can get away with it. Maybe pack an extra layer.

But Vic’s doesn’t just get a spot on our list because of logistics. The Italian-ish food is also solid, from the pastas to the pizzas to the healthier stuff like roasted vegetables and salads. It’s not going to blow minds, but pretty much anyone you bring here will leave happy. They might even put it on their list.