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Obviously, Mark Strausman is no Thomas Wolfe fan, because after ten years, he's returned to take command of a familiar kitchen. Soon after restaurateur Pino Luongo and Strausman opened Coco Pazzo, half this town's food industry surged and scurried to open a trattoria, an osteria—anything, in fact, that ended in a vowel, served spaghetti, and stewed meat till it nearly fell off the bone. (They're still doing it, because New Yorkers adore hedonistic cooking that barely but blissfully falls short of gluttony.) New stars have arisen, but Strausman's skills shake them off like loose semolina. With a healthy lust for garlic, roasted peppers, spicy sausage, mini clams, everything on a shank, and a lasagne that practically obliterates vision (while heightening all other senses), a known but overshadowed restaurant has regained center stage, just the way Luongo likes it. Have no fear about going home again—but you don't live here anyway. You just came to eat. — Hal Rubenstein

Grilled sausages, $16.50; lasagne, $22; spaghetti and meatballs, $21.50

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New York Magazine Reviews

• Hal Rubenstein's Full Review (12/15/03)