Profile

This Italian osteria keeps its large doors wide open onto North 6th, between the clubby Sea and uber-hip American Apparel. The place takes its name from the paiolo, a traditional copper pot often used to make polenta, a northern Italian specialty of boiled cornmeal. Here, you can get their tasty version prepared with quail, fontina cheese, sausage or shrimp, with the option of fresh tomato sauce as a topper. Co-chef Andrea Milazzo, who used to run nearby PT’s kitchen, works here out of a semi-open area boasting a large wood-burning oven and traditional meat slicer. Nicely cooked homemade pastas range from the thin trenette, smothered in pesto with string beans and potatoes, to the lobster gnocchi in a light tomato sauce. Secondi entrée options include sea bass, veal ossobucco, and lamb two ways: it comes with a traditional thyme-crusted chop and housemade sausage. The traditional dining room, with white tablecloths and constantly attentive service, nods to its hipster locale with dangling Edison bulbs above the bar in front and a communal wash area outside the bathrooms in back. — Daniel Benjamin

Shrimp polenta, $14.50