Gusto Ristorante e Bar Americano (CLOSED)

This bustling neighborhood brasserie has turned Greenwich Avenue into a dining destination. It’s a restaurant running on all cylinders: the fetching decor, which includes a Viennese chandelier, white tiles and black-velvet banquettes, is modeled after old Italian movies; the service is warm and the food delicious. Thrilling opening numbers include addictively crisp fried artichokes and a foccaccia-like flatbread that gets smeared with Gorgonzola and Bosc pears before being baked golden and bubbly. The pastas are rustic and toothsome: Ribbons of papparadelle are slathered with a rich braised wild boar ragù; pockets of paper-thin ravioli are stuffed with whipped butternut squash and plated in a butter sauce. For brunch, choose between six variations on the Bloody Mary, including the Genovese, made with basil-infused vodka, asparagus and sun-dried tomato.