Carbone

Carbone, opened in 2013 by Mario Carbone, Rich Torrisi, and Jeff Zalaznick, is a full-dress homage to the mid-century Italian-American restaurants of this exact neighborhood — captains in burgundy tuxedos, tableside Caesar, and a spicy rigatoni alla vodka that became famous enough to be imitated everywhere else. The Thompson Street room took over an old Village red-sauce space and kept the theater while rebuilding the cooking underneath it.

It is expensive, loud, and unapologetically a production; that is the point. If you get the table, commit: let the captain talk you through the specials, share the veal parmesan, and stay for the lemon cheesecake. As a once-a-year New York dinner, it delivers what it promises.