Esca

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The little green-and-white dining room was looking a little threadbare the last time we dropped in, and it’s possible that after 17 years in business, Dave Pasternack enjoys fishing for increasingly elusive stripers under the Verrazano Bridge more than he does slaving away in a hot kitchen. But Pasternack’s seminal crudo creations (red snapper with Meyer lemon oil, mahimahi seared with fennel pollen) are as fresh and bountiful as ever. The roster of Southern Italian seaside pastas and fish dishes (grilled octopus with giant, gently cooling Corona beans; linguine with clams and pancetta; the ageless salt-baked branzino for two) remain stolidly and satisfyingly unchanged. And who can resist a big-city fritto misto, which, on my visit, contained classic deep-fried New England steamers, delicate tempura-like monkfish cheeks, and, for added effect, a helping of crispy fried blowfish tails? — Adam Platt

Crudo, $21-$30; spaghetti with chiles, mint, and a one-pound lobster, $32; whole fish cooked in a sea salt, $36

Related Stories

Best of New York Awards

• Best Gnocchi (2009)

Featured In

• Where to Eat 2008 (1/7/08)
• A Gno-Mistakes Pasta Primer (10/2/06)
• 101 Best New York Restaurants for 2006 (1/9/06)
• The Italian Top Ten (6/2/03)
• Make a Fish (5/8/00)

Recipes at Esca

• Flounder Roe With Blood-Orange and Meyer-Lemon Salad (2012)
• Razor-Clam Crudo (2005)
• Grilled Calamari With Salsa Verde (2003)
• Whole Fish Baked in Salt Crust (2000)