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When she left her executive position at Calvin Klein Jeans to open an Italian restaurant, Rita Sodi envisioned a comfortable, timeless place where she could serve her mother’s traditional Tuscan recipes. Partner Josh Dworkis, a Greenpoint-based artist and designer, corralled a team of craftspeople to build the leather-upholstered furniture, blown-glass sconces, and a ceiling made from salvaged yellow pine. Then Sodi enlisted chef Michael Genardini, late of Alto and L’Impero, to execute the small, weekly-changing menu, a compilation of classics like artichoke salad with shaved Parmigiano, lasagne, and salt-baked branzino. The gelati come from Capogiro in Philadelphia, and the four specialty Negroni cocktails are the handiwork of manager Håkan Westergren, a bartender whom Sodi lured away from Union Square Cafe. In the past, Genardini has shared the kitchen with a very special guest chef—Sodi’s mom, Elena, who made sure everything is up to snuff. — Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite

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Best of New York Awards

• Robin Raisfeld's Pick for Best New Restaurant (2009)

Featured In

• Places to Try Affogato (8/11/08)
• Restaurant Openings: I Sodi, Batch, and Duane Park (3/24/08)

Recipes at I Sodi

• Red Cabbage Salad (2013)
• Risotto Fresco (2012)