Pecorino

"Even though there are white tablecloths on every table, the atmosphere is anything but pretentious at Pecorino. A Sunday lunch here has the vibe of your long-lost cousin’s home who has old family pictures hanging on the wall of relatives you’ve never met or even heard of before. Yes, the waiters are dressed in fancy white button-downs, but you can tell they’ve been working here since they were teenagers, particularly because of how sarcastic and decisive they are. The portions are generous and unhurried, a quality much appreciated when delving into their creamy carbonara and the maltagliati con carciofi—irregularly-shaped flat pasta tossed with garlicky, oily artichokes and pecorino. For dessert, try their light and fluffy zabaione cake that’s sweet and eggy in the best way." - Annie Replogle

"According to Pecorino's Instagram, this San Vicente spot invented cacio e pepe, and we're pretty sure that's not true. Here's what we know: Pecorino's food ranges from relatively simple to quite fancy, and the menu’s high prices don’t discriminate. The cheapest thing, a light vegetable soup, is $12, and their “quick light lunch” menu starts at a steep $38. But we don’t leave Pecorino angrily waving our wallets in the air because the food is actually good. There’s a warm cannellini bean salad with generous amounts of bottarga, an excellent amatriciana with al dente bucatini, and a beautiful parchment-baked sole filet topped with potato and zucchini slices that resemble fish scales (like we said, pretty fancy). Our only major complaint is that Pecorino gets really sleepy in a sea of sleepy restaurants. It's the type of restaurant you go to dine alone with your thoughts or with someone who is hard of hearing. The soft jazz playing gets drowned out by the noise of clinking cutlery. On the bright side, there's free parking in the back. photo credit: Jessie Clapp" - Sylvio Martins