dell'anima

This bustling West Village eatery showcases two granite bars, one for drinks, and one facing the open kitchen where chef Gabriel Thompson (Le Bernardin, Del Posto) dishes out modern Italian dishes. Pasta is hands down the best thing on the menu—thin tagliatelle ribbons luxuriate beneath a textbook bolognese ragù, and squid ink linguine was lavished in a deeply flavorful calamari sauce. Other dishes proved problematic, such as chicken al diavalo that suffered from a paprika overdose. Hang in there till dessert: The panna cotta, with hibiscus-pear syrup and fennel marmalade, is stellar.