Morandi

Description
Creating a winning restaurant usually requires far more art than science, but the immediate success of Morandi, the Italian debut for Keith McNally, king of the pseudo-French eatery (Pastis, Balthazar), amounts to simple math: x (cram them in) times y (turn them over) equals z (money machine). Morandi is yet another old-world theme park, though little is specifically Italian besides the racks of wine in straw baskets. McNally’s formula also includes reliable, straightforward food. The lengthy menu is more authentic than the surroundings and her eats are consistently good or better, if uninspired. Heavy carne dishes, including crusty pork-and-veal meatballs with pine nuts, raisins and tomato paste, and a huge, gorgeously pink veal chop, smothered in gooey fontina and prosciutto, are quite good. Service, though professional, is frenetic: Dishes came one on top of the other, and most tables turn over in 90 minutes or so.