"A neighborhood restaurant shouldn’t charge you $21 for a glass of wine. At a neighborhood restaurant, you should be able to waltz in wearing your finest pajamas and drink a $10 glass of sangiovese from Umbria on a fifth date—the date where you finally share “your little spot.” Briscola is one of those little spots. But the Italian food here is not just better than what you could have made at home—it’s great. Even if you don’t live in Crown Heights, a bowl of squid ink-stained spaghetti, a carafe of red, and a big piece of pistachio cake here are worth the train ride. (Bonus points for the fact that this place is 150 feet from the nearest subway station.) photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte From the team behind LaRina in Fort Greene, this trattoria has house wine, free bread, and not one single server in a customized chore coat. It’s charmingly laidback, but there’s also enough candlelight to reinvigorate date night, or make a casual birthday dinner feel special. Focus on the pastas—like sage green, paper thin ravioli, and velvety tagliatelle al ragu—but not so much that you forget about that dessert cart. A server will roll it out to you no matter where you sit, with the determination of someone who routinely eats cake for breakfast. Food Rundown photo credit: Kate Previte Cestino del Pane Your first round of bread is free, which means everybody gets to try slabs of sourdough, and focaccia slick with olive oil, and slabs of sourdough. Use the bottle of Briscola-branded olive oil liberally. Fritelle In terms of fried things you can start your meal with, the baccala might sound more interesting, but this fried zucchini is better. It’s a light and airy fry, with a moist inside—like a savory zeppole. photo credit: Kate Previte Doppio Raviolo If you only get one pasta (unadvisable) make it this one. It’s a two-sided ravioli: one half is filled with a parmesan-heavy ricotta; the other with a milder creamy spinach. The best bite is when you fold them over on each other, and eat a little bit of each side at the same time. The brown butter it’s served in isn’t always quite browned, but we’d happily eat the ravioli completely plain, so we promise you won’t miss that nutty flavor. photo credit: Kate Previte Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia Don’t wear white. This squid-ink stained pasta is salty like the ocean, and turns every piece of seafood in it black. It’s fun to take a bite and realize that, oh! That’s a manila clam, and it’s so tiny and tender. photo credit: Kate Previte Tagliatelle al Ragu The most charming part of this velvety tagliatelle al ragu? It’s served with a little dish of extra sauce on the side. It’s a classic done particularly well, and a nice balance to some of the other richer pasta dishes. If you come here with a kid, order this for them, and then steal at least three bites of pasta and at least two spoonfuls of sauce. photo credit: Briscola Trattoria Bomba di Silvia This $45 casserole-like mountain of baked tomatoey rice, meatballs, peas, and stretchy mozzarella is named after the chef herself, but unless you come with a big group and need to bulk up your order, we’d skip this and focus on pastas. It’s comforting, but in a Sunday-night-dinner-on-the-couch kind of way. Insalata di Pomodori This exact tomato salad is no longer on the menu, but whatever vegetables they’ve got going on, Briscola knows how to make a salad dressing that’ll force you to locate your nearest spoon and sop it up like soup. Get the salad as a nice balance to all the pasta, bread, and fried things. photo credit: Kate Previte The Carrello dei Dolci In case you aren’t fluent in Italian, we’ll just cut right to the chase—this is the dessert cart, and you must call on it every time you are here. If you get overwhelmed, just ask for the pudding-like pistachio cake." - Willa Moore
