Profile

Because Florio’s is a full-service tobacconist as well as a bar-restaurant, it’s able to circumvent those pesky smoking laws. Blindingly bright and surprisingly fresh thanks to a large air filter by the door, the small front bar has a few tables and a fake brick wall, but the focus is on the large humidor on the left, filled with cigars from around the world. (A larger, smoke-free dining room is in back.) Sinatra croons over the speakers for stogie connoisseurs who peruse the wide array of goods. Apron-ed waiters serve up stiff cocktails and heaping plates of shrimp, pasta, and other Italian-American standards. The food is not exceptional, but the full bar and the jovial atmosphere suffuse the space with true Little Italy character. Evidence of the owner's military past proudly hangs on the wall above the marble bar where groups of men—some of whom look as though they’ve been here since the opening well over a half-century ago—talk, dine, drink and puff. — Jane Lerner