Macelleria (CLOSED)

Give Macelleria credit for beating the Meatpacking District’s explosion by a year or two. Macelleria means “meat market” (the back room once housed carcasses), but the small menu isn’t only about steaks and chops. Pastas are a specialty, and the spaghetti carbonara’s eggy sauce comes alive with hunks of salty pancetta. The signature porterhouse for two won’t make you forget Luger’s, but it could decrease the number of trips you make to Brooklyn. As at Luger's, the vibe is no-frills: An urban-barn main dining room sits above a bat-cave wine cellar, where –patrons can dine among the crates and escape the Meatpacking craziness.