Look around the kitchen at Sofia's of Little Italy and you may wonder if the place was recently hit by an indoor snowstorm. But the thin dusting of white that coats each stainless-steel tabletop isn't frost—it's flour. Neat squares of raw, fresh-cut pasta sit in rows, ready to be filled, folded, boiled, and served. To an outsider, such a scene might suggest culinary chaos. But Chef Nelson and team seem to have no trouble staying on top of orders for the beloved pasta dishes and stone-oven baked pizzas they make from scratch.

The dining room betrays none of the kitchen's bustle. Its warm walls sport paintings and murals alongside old-fashioned clocks, gilding the whole space with reflections of golden light. At tables topped with white linens, diners might twirl their forks through linguini alla puttanesca, a savory, salty combination of olive, capers, and anchovies in spicy marinara. Or they might choose the risotto con funghi, whose fresh pearls of rice come paired with wild mushrooms and a drizzle of truffle oil. As they eat and converse, guests enjoy a soundtrack as classic as the setting, sometimes performed live by artists such as Brian Kramer or Violinbot, the automated violin programmed to move you.