Cara Mia, New York

Cara Mia's head chef, Luis Cuzo, infuses the restaurant's Italian cuisine with creative twists on traditional plates, and a knowledgeable staff helps pair the flavorful dishes with vino from an extensive wine selection. Main acts of sautéed veal, aromatic eggplant, and sliced sirloin make appearances along with well-known oceanic headliners, such as grilled salmon, striped bass, and Nemo. Cara Mia's homemade pasta enriches several dishes, such as the lighter pappardelle, which mixes portobello, shiitake, and porcini mushrooms into its wide fettuccine, or heartier choices including the strozzapreti's slow-cooked wild boar, with chianti-wine sauce tossed into thickly rolled noodles. Dark hardwood floors, exposed-brick walls, and candlelit lanterns held aloft by the ghosts of caesars past add an authentic charm to Cara Mia's intimate, softly lit dining room.