Sorella (CLOSED)

Piedmont—Italy’s northwestern region—is a gastronome’s dream, boasting a French-Italian cuisine with hallmarks like white truffles and some of the world’s best wines. Despite its culinary significance, few of New York’s Italian restaurants spotlight the region. Sorella—opened by two friends who fell for Piedmont—is a small, sleek eatery with spunky renditions of traditional dishes that do justice to the region’s pedigree, and then some. Sorella’s commitment is evident from the start, with the arrival of grissini, light and crispy (and labor-intensive) bread sticks native to Turin. The menu of winning small plates that follows tends toward richness, which means you’re better off ordering less. (A rotating two-course tasting menu is available each week, from $26 to $34.) A “duck fat” English muffin comes laden with satiny chicken-liver mousse, diced bacon and a fried egg, while vitello tonnato (veal with tuna sauce) is reworked as a refreshing salad of shredded chicken, veal tongue and beets in a creamy tuna-mayonnaise dressing. Some pastas, like the thin egg-noodle tajarin, are also given delectable updates—in this case tossed with a minty, pistachio-studded lamb rag and topped with milky black-pepper ricotta. Others adhere more closely to custom, such as the agnolotti al sugo di arrosto, pinched ravioli stuffed with pork and beef and bathed in a buttery jus. Save room for dessert: Enchanting creations include an orange-flavored genoise with a fragrant orange-flower gelato, and a dense chocolate pudding with espresso fudge and whipped cream. It’s hefty fare, but enjoyed with a glass of barbera, it goes down just fine.