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Bamonte's attracts an unusual mix of customers: Some have been kicking around the place since the 1950s (as have the waiters), and others are drawn from Williamsburg's now-thriving artists-and-yuppies community. You don't need an archaeologist to identify the strata of renovations, from original chandeliers to mid-century paneling to a modern glassed-in kitchen. Stick to the basic appetizers: clams casino, mussels marinara, and prosciutto with melon. Salads are serviceable, but they just delay the inevitable: Bamonte's gigantic handmade cheese ravioli, in a light tomato-and-meat sauce, are de rigueur, and among the finest available. Lasagna with chicken and spinach, too, is extraordinary. Many customers order pastas as their entrées, but for those who must have meat, stick to veal—the seafood isn't quite so impressive. — Steven A. Shaw

Among the city's oldest surviving restaurants, Bamonte's opened in 1900, before America had seen so much as a pizzeria (Lombardi's, the first one of those, opened in 1905).

Handmade cheese ravioli in tomato-and-meat sauce, $13.95; lasagna with chicken and spinach, $13.95; pork chops with hot and sweet vinegar peppers, $19.50