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no problem finding a complementary wine from the restaurant's
long and impressive list. Telepan is a pre-Lincoln Center favorite so
if you want to avoid the crush, make a reservation for after curtain.
72 W. 69th St. (at Columbus Ave.).
&
212/580-4300.
www.telepan-ny.com. Reser-
vations recommended. Main courses: $29-$36; four-course tasting menu $59; five-
course tasting menu $69. AE, DC, MC, V. Lunch Wed-Fri 11:30am-2:30pm; dinner
Mon-Thurs 5-11pm, Fri-Sat 5-11:30pm, Sun 5-10:30pm; brunch Sat-Sun
11am-2:30pm. Subway: B, C to 72nd St.
MODERATE
Carmine's
FAMILY-STYLE SOUTHERN ITALIAN
Everything is B-I-G at this rollicking family-style mainstay with two
locations, on the Upper West Side (the original) and in Times
Square. In many cases big means bad, but not here. Carmine's, with
a dining room vast enough to deserve its own zip code, and massive
portions, turns out better pasta and entrees than most 20-table Ital-
ian restaurants. I've never had pasta here that wasn't
al dente
, and the
marinara sauce is as good as any I've had in Manhattan. The salads
are always fresh and the fried calamari perfectly tender. Rigatoni
marinara, linguine with white-clam sauce, and ziti with broccoli are
pasta standouts, while the best meat entrees include veal parmigiana,
broiled porterhouse steak, shrimp scampi, and the remarkable
chicken
scarpariello
(chicken pan-broiled with a lemon-rosemary
sauce). The tiramisu is pie-size, thick, creamy, and bathed in Kahlúa
and Marsala. Order half of what you think you'll need. Don't expect
intimate conversation; in fact, it's downright loud.
2450 Broadway (btwn 90th and 91st sts.).
&
212/362-2200.
www.carminesnyc.
com. Reservations recommended before 6pm; accepted only for 6 or more after
6pm. Family-style main courses $19-$65 (most $23 or less). AE, DC, DISC, MC, V.
Sun-Thurs 11:30am-11pm; Fri-Sat 11:30am-midnight. Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 96th St.
Also at 200 W. 44th St. (btwn Broadway and Eighth Ave.).
&
212/221-3800.
Sub-
way: A, C, E, N, R, S, 1, 2, 3, 7 to 42nd St./Times Sq.
Kids
Kefi
GREEK Chef/owner Michael Psilakis has trans-
formed what was formerly nouveau-Greek Onera back to something
much closer to your father's Greek. More accurately, Kefi is like your
Greek mother's (if you had a Greek mother) kitchen and in fact, the
restaurant was inspired by Psilakis's mother and her traditional
recipes. So gone is the Offal Tasting menu of Onera and in are Greek
standards like moussaka, spinach pie, Greek salad, and grilled fish.
But oh, what Psilakis does with the standards! The
mezes
(Greek
appetizers) are good enough to make up a meal; it's hard to resist the
selection of spreads accompanied by pita, the warm feta, tomatoes,
capers and anchovies, and the grilled octopus salad, as good as I've
Finds
