Where's the best spaghetti carbonara???

I have long been looking for a superb spaghetti carbonara in the city (outer boroughs count as well, even though I'm on the Manhattan board).

My interest is less in the pasta itself (could be linguine or penne for all I care) but the sauce, which I am very rarely happy with.

I've had a tasty carbonara at Manducatis in Queens, but I'm still looking for that perfect specimen, namely, a sauce that isn't too thick or too thin, with generous pieces of bacon/pancetta, and not too much onion. I've found that many carbonara sauces are rubbery, onion-y, skimpy on the pork and tasteless without salt and pepper.

I'm by no means a knowledgable connisseur of Italian food, but I'm hoping someone out there is...and wants to share his/her thoughts.

the carbonara at 50 carmine is fantastic. otto's is also good.

"Da Silvano" makes a pasta with italian bacon but they call theirs "Rigatoni Foccacia". It's very light, made with sage, garlic etc. I had some about a week ago and could easily have inhaled another bowl. The place is pricey and noisy but oh that rigatoni!

Otto.

Lupa when they have it. Both restaurants use guanciale which is really the key.

Crispo

Otto.

Dark-horse candidate: Cremcaffe on 2nd Ave. around 3rd or 4th St.

Hi...actually the person that recommended Giambelli to me said that they made the best Alfredo (tableside) anywhere including Italy. I would also think that their Carbonara would be great as well if this were the case. So, would love to hear any feedback on this restaurant.

If this is the restaurant I think it is, it was a favorite among "the ladies who lunch" in the 60's and was delicious back then....It was tied with San Marino (sadly-- closed) for best upscale Italian

This should give you a start.

Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

thanks for all the carbonara recommendations. from the suggestions from this thread and previous ones, i've assembled the following "tasty carbonara" list:

landmark
otto
lupa
da silvano
crispo
john's
cremcaffe
prune
vila mosconi's
barbuto
manducatis
perbacco
abboccato
il posto aconto
elios
nonna
grotto

i just thought i'd put them all in a list for anyone with a similar query in the future. i'd offer to start down the list and rate them all but perhaps someone who doesn't gain weight as easily might want to take a stab at it.