Trattoria Isabella

The suave greetings from slicksters in suits, the sly handshakes with well-heeled fiftysomethings, the nose-thumbing move of ashtrays in the bar area...so many signs scream old-school Italian joint that you’d never guess this place was only a few weeks old. The menu of Italian-American specialties (chicken Vesuvio, veal Marsala) doesn’t excite much, but a handful of standards are done surprisingly well. Crispy calamari is incredibly tender and greaseless, and we could have made a meal out of the fantastic Big Night salad topped with perfectly grilled, big fat shrimp and bright artichokes. In fact, maybe we should have: Four-cheese ravioli’s sage butter sauce was incredibly salty, and a chicken breast’s goat cheese and spinach stuffing didn’t save it from drying out.