Celeste Restaurant

Proudly Neapolitan in heritage are all sorts of impeccable fritti, as well as classic free-form pizzas out of the wood-fired oven, at Celeste. A flower-decked terrace leads into country-cottage quaint with sky-blue plates and exactly what you'd eat in Naples: deep-fried buffalo-ricotta balls. Savory seafood fritto misto. And the day's riff on zucchini blossoms. Quite a trick for Teodora's Giancarlo Quadalti, staunch partisan of Emilia-Romagna and chef-partner here. He's mastered the mantra of Upper West Side eats, too: big portions, small prices—antipasti and salads (anchovy crostini, sautéed mussels, stuffed eggplant rolls, thin-sliced artichokes with pecorino), artisanal pastas and their gelato dessert. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld