Chez Joël

Little Italy is not just about red-sauce joints. Another option is this quaint spot, where the walls are the color of buttercream and the pâté is just as smooth. The mushroom quiche is thick with earthy ’shrooms and crunchy bread crumbs, and the steak frites comes with a particularly herbal maître d’ butter and habit-forming shoestring fries. This place might just be that dependable little spot you’ve been looking for when the wait at Le Bouchon is insane.