Mama Mia 44 SW

When the Schiattarella family first purchased their Hell’s Kitchen restaurant in 1971, the neighborhood was still a barricade-the-door-at-night kind of place. The surroundings have changed quite a bit since then, but the homestyle cooking at Mama Mia 44 SW has not. Start off the night with an order of freshly baked focaccia bread ($11) and perhaps some baked clams ($15). For your main course, choose from a whole host of Southern Italian classics such as chicken marsala ($21), spaghetti and homemade meatballs “mama’s way” ($19), gnocchi with fresh mozzarella ($19) and calamari fra diavolo with penne ($21). This is New York, so there are also several house pizzas, ranging from the classic margherita ($17) to customized pies ($16, plus $2 per topping). Wash it all down with one of their signature, Italian-themed cocktails like the Sophia Loren with dragonberry rum, cranberry juice and seltzer or a pitcher of sangria.