Frills go out the window at this low-key Italian restaurant on Sixth Avenue just above Houston Street, where Greenwich Village meets Soho. There are no reservations (or tablecloths), it’s crowded, there’s usually a line, and the waiters are not the friendliest bunch. Yet no one seems to mind, because the food is simple and delicious (we recommend forgoing the paper menus and instead choosing from the daily specials, scribbled on a chalkboard and moved brusquely between tables). At night and on weekends, the restaurant has become a place to see and be seen; during weekdays, it’s the perfect lunch spot, and serves as the unofficial AIR MAIL canteen. (The restaurant is cash-only, but there’s an A.T.M. downstairs.) —Julia Vitale

Julia Vitale is a Deputy Editor at AIR MAIL