Ristorante Morini

Empire builder Michael White has been on an expansion tear in late 2013, busting out his bi-level steakhouse, Costata, and retro supper club, the Butterfly, in a span of two months. For his third and final venture of the year, White seeks to cement his reputation as Gotham’s pasta authority, propelling beyond the Emilia-Romagna specialties at Soho’s rustic Osteria Morini. The toque tapped longtime Altamarea chef Gordon Finn to helm this higher-end spin-off, covering fare from all over the Boot: cacio e pepe (Roman), duck-heart cacciatore (Tuscan) and gnocchi alla Sorrentina (Sorrento). A ground-floor café leads up to the dining room, outfitted with beige suede, mahogany wood and chandeliers by Italian lighting company Flos.