Spicy Rigatoni Vodka
I had high expectations for Carbone, and when I walked into this restaurant and heard "In the Mood" by Glenn Miller, I knew I was going to love it. In case you aren't from New York or happen to live in the city and maybe just live under a rock, Carbone is a popular choice for celebrities and apparently the whole city judging by how hard it is to get a reservation. They book out 30 days in advance and every seating from 5:00pm to 12:00am disappears within seconds of coming online. Having said that, it's worth a little planning ahead and a minor heart attack of anticipation to give this spot a try.
One of the things I love about this place is that, despite having a Michelin Star and a reputation the size of the Big Apple itself, it felt really comfortable and welcoming. The whole place makes you feel like you're going back into a classic Italian restaurant sometime in the 50's and that, maybe if you look over your shoulder you'll see a young Martin Scorcese.
When it comes to food, it seems like just about everyone here gets the spicy rigatoni vodka, which I would say is definitely a safe move. When we asked for it, our waiter said "hey if it ain't broken, don't fix it". The other thing you hear a lot about is the meatballs. Don't worry when you don't see them on the menu - it's possible they've never been on there but I don't think they'll ever stop serving them. My favorite thing we tried here though was the Veal Parmesan. It's higher price tag might cause you to look elsewhere as you scan the menu, but I would make the splurge on this one.
Finally, I don't usually order desserts when we're going out to eat, but this is one place that I will order dessert at until the end of time. Most people would probably tell you to get the carrot cake, but you'll never catch me ordering anything besides the lemon cheesecake. I don't even like cheesecake - it's typically something I'd never pay for. When our waiter said he was in the same boat and that he'd still recommend it, I figured why not (plus I was already so full I needed something light). There's a reason I dedicated a whole paragraph to it, it's a perfectly balanced slice of heaven.
If you've read this far but are crying because you haven't been able to get reservations here, then definitely keep on trying, but know that this isn't the only high-end family style Italian restaurant dishing up delicious food (you can try Don Angie, for instance). However, if you're lucky enough to have a reservation here, then look forward to it and mentally prepare yourself before running into Leonardo DiCaprio or Elon Musk (really).
Veal Parmesan