Osteria Tulia

The first dilemma: Sit al fresco and people watch along busy Fifth Avenue South or enter the embrace of "farmhouse chic" indoors, where repurposed barn wood creates warmth and character? Then the food ordering decision! Like the décor, the menu reflects the rustic side of Italian cuisine refined. Culinary marvels range from antipasti selections such as Brussels sprouts caramelized with house-made fennel sausage and Sicilian meatballs studded with the added serendipity of pine nuts and currants to homemade pastas such as kale and sheep ricotta and the fennel and cumin rubbed Faroe Island salmon. Besides the pasta, Chef Vincenzo Betulia prepares most of his cured meats in-house. What he doesn't make himself he imports from Italy or sourced from local seafood and produce providers.