The Feed first look: Carbone

Chef wunderkinds Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone—the trailblazing duo behind Torrisi Italian Specialties and Parm—graduate to empire-building status with their third high-flying joint: a 72-seat tribute to mid-20th-century red-sauce relics opening March 8th. As at their Nolita hot spots, the pair will breathe new life—with primo ingredients and Café Boulud–trained technique—into nonna standards, culled from old-school genre masters like Rao’s and the menu archives at the New York Public Library. The food-historical toques will dispatch chicken scarpariello (cotechino sausage, morel mushrooms and piquillo peppers), ragù-slicked tortellini and lobster Fra Diavolo. The retro-inspired decor in the time-honored Rocco’s space recalls 1950s New York: Servers bustle around the blue-and-white tiled floor (inspired by similar flooring seen in The Godfather) in vintage-style tuxes designed by Zac Posen. Sepia-toned art curated by cine-kid Vito Schnabel (son of director Julian) lines the walls. The bar—crafted from hand-carved walnut with mother-of-pearl inlays—highlights Italian and American wines, as well as classic cocktails from Manhattans to mai tais, overseen by decorated drink vet Thomas Waugh (former Death & Company head bartender). 181 Thompson St between Bleecker St and W Houston Sts (212-254-3000)