New York Italian Food: By the Regions

45 Tudor City Pl, New York, NY 10017 (map)

While chef Michael White's tribute to the food of southern Italy draws on the food of Sicily, Sardinia and other regions, the strongest influence by far is that of Naples--home of the red-sauce-and-garlic flavor profile that most Americans have come to associate with Italian food. The power of southern Italian flavors gives a punchiness and percussive force to the food, from the famous fusilli with pork shoulder ragu to the fegatini (rustic chicken liver crostini with marsala onions).

243 E 58TH St, New York, NY 10022 (map)

The Istria region of Italy is so far to the north that it seems to have more in common with Croatia than it does with the south. In terms of cuisine, that's especially apparent when it comes to the lowered flavor volume. At Felidia, you won't find the amount of garlic, heat or acid you're likely used to. This food--a piece of branzino with lemon, bigoli pasta with nettles, brown veal sauce, braised tripe--is all about simplicity, which celebrated chef Lidia Bastianich has elevated and ornamented at her midtown restaurant. It works beautifully, but just don't go looking the kind of heat you would find at Babbo.

122 E 27th St, New York, NY 10016 (map)

Puglia, deep in the heel of Italy's boot, is one of the country's most arid regions, so rather than meat, the food tends to center on vegetables and fish. At I Trulli, that tradition takes the form of bitter greens, assertive seafood and proteins like rabbit and mackerel that are eschewed in richer areas. The restaurant's back garden will put you in a suitably pastoral frame of mind.