Chef-owner Frank Prisinazo's fresh, rustic fare satisfies the soul and the wallet. Start with addictive chicken liver or cheesy stracchino crostini on chewy Sullivan Street bread. Homemade pastas with meaty bolognese or wild-mushroom ragu are simple pleasures, but weekly rotating too-soft risottos, such as sweet pear-Gorgonzola, are hit-or-miss. Favorites include moist, herb-stuffed whole fish and oven-roasted pork loin with crispy potatoes and mixed greens. Skip the pedestrian cheese plate and end the evening with chocolate-doused hazelnut panna cotta instead.

This addition to Frank Prisinzano's team of well-priced eateries (Frank, Lil' Frankie's Pizza) proves that a good dinner can be an uncomplicated affair. The decor has a grown-up feel, with rustic wooden tables, antique chandeliers and a supersleek private dining room in the basement wine vault. Yet simplicity rules the menu. An appetizer of coaster-size beet slices and silky goat cheese pieces is a collision of exquisite flavors. Main courses allow the freshness of each ingredient to shine: linguine with butter and fresh mint; gnocchi with tomato sauce; spaghetti with lemon and Parmesan. Salmon tagliata, two seared hunks atop arugula, is accented by a light fava-bean puree. Food this cheap and cheerful means you won't have any problem cleaning your plate.

Supper is where polpettone kingpin Frank Prisinzano—of southern Italian Frank and Lil' Frankie's fame—sets his sights on the rest of the boot. The crowded, convivial space is decked out with wooden communal tables, a bustling open kitchen, and floral-pattern plates that evoke Sunday supper at Grandma's house. The real attraction, though, is what's on those plates: an herby minestrone Genovese, perfectly thin veal Milanese, a luscious chocolate-hazelnut panna cotta, a daily risotto, and bollito misto on weekends.