neighborhood italian around 45th and 9th?

[adam]

as I explore my new neighborhood, it seems that there are a lot of neighborhood Italian places nearby. Not sure which to check out. I went to Cascina last week and was very disappointed by everything we ordered - meat place, fresh pasta that didn't taste very fresh with a ragu that had no flavor and bad texture, a couple other things that are unmemorable. anything better out there?

[ohny]

Basilica is near, on 9th and 46th I think. I had their pre-theatre prix-fix once and found it nice and quite a bargain. For just over 20 something dollars (when 2 people order) you get a bottle of their house wine to share and 3 courses each. Not sure if they still offer this, or what the time restrictions are, but it might be worth checking out.

[Striver]

Roberto Passon on 50th and 9th is my favorite in the area - reasonable and good (and sometimes very good). Decent wine-by-the-glass selection, too.

[jpolk]

Sure. There are plenty of Italian places there. Try Peitrasanta at 47th and 9th (more Northern Italian) or there's a place across the street that I cannot remember the name of that is more of a Southern Italian/Italian American flare. Neither are real cheap... but they are quite nice. Then there is DaRosa's on Restaurant Row - which has a nice Price Fixe pre-theatre menu.