Profile

Don’t let the name fool you. Neither the garish paintings of Technicolor taxicabs nor the Italian food qualify as art in the true sense. But for its faithful NYU clientele, ArtePasta gets the essentials right: it’s cheap; it’s got a party-hearty atmosphere, and the portions are huge. The signature lasagna is a towering pile of cheese and noodles in a platter-sized dish of chunky Bolognese sauce; rigatoni quattro formaggi is similarly doused in a soup of creamy gorgonzola, fontina, mozzarella, and provolone. Skip the oddly Tang-y all-you-drink mimosas on the weekend for the $5 giant martinis during happy hour and you’re infinitely more likely to get into a festive spirit emphasized by red Christmas lights strung in the window all year round. It may sound sacrilegious, but the best offering on the menu is a juicy cheeseburger, served on crispy foccacia and accompanied by shoestring fries. — Sarah Gold

Grilled cheeseburger, $11.95