Don Angie

GO HERE: for chefs Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli’s playful take on red-sauce nostalgia.

ORDER THE: vegetables. Sure, the lasagna and black-sesame-striped caramelle are all over the Internet, but the sleeper hits here are the carb-less ones. We can’t get enough of the scallion pancake-like garlic flatbread; crunchy chrysanthemum salad speckled with sesame and Parm; antipasto salad (think Italian sub in salad form!); barbecue calamari with pepperoni fried rice; and Roman pasta-inspired grilled orata alla gricia.

THE VIBE IS: old-school cool. A warm, pinkish light and less-than-ideal acoustics lend a club-like vibe, but the beautiful black marble bar, with rounded, meandering edges, mean more space to hang out at the bar and chat with your friends as you wait for a table.

PRACTICAL STUFF: Open for dinner every day: Sunday to Wednesday, from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., and Thursday to Saturday, from 5:30 p.m. to midnight, but the bar opens at 5 p.m. Reservations can be tough, so book ahead through Resy at least a few weeks out.

—Elyse Inamine

Ashley Sears

Liz Clayman

Ashley Sears