Otto Enoteca Pizzeria.   (Photo: Kate Attardo)

Babbo
110 Waverly Pl., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-777-0303
The most exciting Italian restaurant in town serves food you'll never find in Little Italy.

Del Posto
85 Tenth Ave., nr. 15th St.; 212-497-8090
Italian cooking treated like haute cuisine in a regal space.

Esca
402 W. 43rd St., at Ninth Ave.; 212-564-7272
Batali elevates Southern Italian seafood to gourmet status.

Lupa Osteria Romana
170 Thompson St., nr. Houston St.; 212-982-5089
The mood, the food, and the gentle prices are all supremely likeable at his down-home Roman trattoria.

Otto Enoteca Pizzeria
1 Fifth Ave., at 8th St.; 212-995-9559
The most casual Batali operation is part buzzing wine bar and part glorified pizzeria.