Regional
2607 Broadway (between 98th and 99th)

I was meeting a friend for dinner in the fading days of 2007 and for him, the Upper West Side was a half-way compromise (yes, that's how far uptown he is), so we agreed to meet there. His last choice, Gennaro, was excellent, so I trusted him to find good food in UWS, and he did it again with Regional.

This restaurant, rather unpretentious, focused on various regional Italian dishes. Honestly, there was nothing too out of the ordinary here, but it was a good, solid Italian place with good portions. And the wines were nice too.

I enjoyed the fritto misto for a starter, and it was a good mix of seafood and the portion was good. The breading was not overwhelming, so you can taste the calamari and fish. Excellent, better than most other places. I found the presentation -- like fish & chips almost, wrapped in paper -- to be a nice touch.

Some of the secondi tempted me, but sensing the amount of wine I was to consume tonight, I settled on a pasta instead -- i spaghetti alla chitarra con ragu d'agnello...in other words, spaghetti with a lamb ragu. It was quite good and voluminous, which is what I needed. Of course this doesn't compare to the awesome stuff at places like Esca, but it was hearty and solid. So it was a plus.

The place was modern and open, so it is a good place for groups or less. It's a friendly place and the food came incredibly fast -- the fastest I've seen in months. So for lone diners, that would be a major plus. The lack of pretention on the UWS made it a nice experience. And the food was quite nice tood. Good pick again, Todd!

Food: B+
Atmosphere: B+
For Lone Diners: A-