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The walls of Cascina are adorned with large-format prints of the wine vats, metal tanks, and bucolic grounds of a Piedmont vineyard, Cascina Orsolina, which maintains this midtown country kitchen as its American outpost. The interior’s rusticity is a natural match for the food. Rough wooden beams preside over a raised dining platform in back, with Tuscan-red walls. Iron, leather, and wood add finishes, hanging copper cookware a domestic touch. The wine list is peppered with homegrown selections to accompany the bold-flavored Northern Italian fare, like homemade pastas paired with meaty Bolognese sauces or rich mascarpones and ricottas. Daily specials augment a short list of veal, lamb, fish, and free-range chicken. The house branzino stands out, its delicate white meat enlivened with garlic, olives, cherry tomatoes, and caper berries. A brick and stone wood-burning oven turns out thin-crust pizzas. Up front, sidewalk tables commune with Ninth Avenue, as does a portly, white-aproned man, importuning passersby, Little Italy–style, to step inside. But this is no tourist trap. Cascina’s capable kitchen satisfies. — Ethan Wolff

Daily, noon–7 p.m., $24.50

Weekend Brunch
On weekends, from noon to 4 p.m., Cascina offers an Italian-style brunch.

Branzino della casa, market price