Crispin's

For his first restaurant, chef Crispin Mejia sticks to a neighborhood he knows well. Mejia—whose time at Hell’s Kitchen spots Puttanesca and Le Zie earned him the title “King of Ninth Avenue”—moves a block west for this 74-seat Italian eatery. In a brick-lined dining room, dive into seafood-heavy dishes such as lobster ravioli, grilled branzino with broccoli rabe, and steamed shrimp in an avocado-cilantro sauce. The wine list also skews European, with bottles from Italian, French and Spanish vineyards.