Cheap Italian is the life’s blood of the New York restaurant market. Some think it’s those fancy-schmancy, celebrity chef joints, but they’d be wrong–dead wrong. Now that we’ve got that straight, let’s get into this cheap Italian joint. You have your obligatory red-and-white checked tablecloths with the big bottle of foreign-sounding water in the middle of the table and some fake vines and shit draped on the mural-covered wall. We can go as far as to say that this place is just typical. “Food and drink,” that’s what we’re talking about here, and they do indeed have both of these items. They are both reasonably priced, especially at lunch time, and at least the chicken parm is edible. If this doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement, you may be correct, but at least you can get pretty full for not too much money. But, God forbid you go there while somebody at a neighboring table is celebrating a birthday. You’ll see what we mean, but be warned: bring earplugs or bring a gun (to shoot yourself or the loud-ass singing waiters). [MF]
980 9th Ave.
212/956-3976
