Ignotz’s Ristorante

Head for this home-style cucina in the Heart of Italy for feather-light, spinach-stuffed gnocchi in cream sauce; juicy chicken à la tippi (pounded breasts fried in a Parmesan, egg and basil batter, then smothered with a tart lemon butter sauce); and whitefish Vesuvio. The small waitstaff seems frantic (this place gets packed early), but it still manages to coerce the crowd into entire-room birthday sing-alongs. Save room for the freshly made tiramisu—it’s a legend in its own right.