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A theatrical flair characterizes this Tribeca mainstay with a Northern Italian focus. The vaulted ceiling and green-marble columns give a cathedral-like air to the space, an ideal setting in which to listen to Sinatra and Italian opera. Ornate tapestries and gold-tasseled draperies underscore the drama. A replica of the famous 15th-century portrait of Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, watches over the candlelit dining area. To get a tableside cooking show, you have to choose from the waiter's long list of nightly specials, such as a rack-of-lamb finished tableside in an inferno of flaming white wine. The regular Northern Italian menu dishes don't get the same fiery treatment, but they don't disappoint. Bresaola, a spice-rubbed, air-cured beef from the Valtellina region of Lombardia, is served carpaccio-style with fontina cheese, greens, and truffle oil to highlight the beef's gamey flavor. Spedino alla romana, a Lazio-region dish of soft bread cooked with fontina cheese, resembles a grilled cheese sandwich dipped in gravy—and you're not likely to find this dish elsewhere in town. But overall the kitchen emphasizes veal, like saltinbocca alla romana—rich, Roman-style veal scaloppini with prosciutto and spinach, in a white wine sauce. If you're looking to impress, this is your restaurant. — Timothy Cooper

Bresaola, $14; fusille Genovese, $25