Pic courtesy of Falai
If sitting about four inches from Lou Reed at a restaurant doesn’t distract you from the food, then you’re in the right place. The Lower East Side Italian restaurant Falai manages to be both miniscule—just a handful of tables squeezed into a skinny space—and magically private, and the white surfaces ensure chef-owner Iacopo Falia’s food monopolizes your attention. Chestnut agnolotti, or mussel-stuffed whole-wheat pasta with cranberry bean cream and rosemary-garlic oil, or duck breast with salsify puree and kumquats: masterfully cooked, focused, fantastic. Also check out the spinoff down the street (Panetteria) and the bakery in Nolita (Caffe Falai).
Falai: 68 Clinton St. at Rivington St.; (212) 253-1960. Falai Panetteria: 79 Clinton St. at Rivington St.; (212) 777-8956. Caffe Falai: 265 Lafayette St. at Prince St.; (212) 274-8615.
Prices/Features: MOD, VGT (See Welcome to Salmaland for key to letter abbreviations.)