Good options near 92nd St Y

[Blumie]

This certainly has been discussed in the past, but a search did not reveal any threads within the last year. What are people's current favorites near the 92nd St Y?

[MMRuth]

Sfoglia - gets mixed reviews on the boards, and I've had a couple of misses, but overall have had v. good meals there. The bread is fabulous.

Ottomanelli - v. simple, casual, and my favorite burger in the city. Cheap too. At Lex & 93rd.

Paola's - moved up to our area earlier this year - v. well executed Italian food, beautiful room, good service.

Square Meal - one of my favorites in the neighboorhood - mostly American, I'd say - I've posted a lot about it.

Le Paris (fka Bistro du Nord) - the French fare seems much more consistent to me since they renovated in August, and gentler prices as well, The room was spruced up nicely. Don't like to sit upstairs though.

[MMRuth]

I am reconsidering my Sfoglia recommendation. I occasionally have lunch there by myself at the bar, and did so today. Now that I think of it, the last three pastas I've had there were underwhelming. The amatriciana today was too heavily sauced, the sauce was sweet and the pasta slightly overcooked - not terrible, but not al dente. The previous time, I had the carbonara, and the eggs split into whites and yolks. I also thought the pasta was over done that time, and they did comp me the dish and a glass of wine. Before that, in the summer, I had an interesting pasta - figs, hazelnuts, ricotta and I'm not sure what else. The flavours were great together, but whole haze;nuts made it difficult to eat, and it was oversalted. All of this said, I've always liked the bolognese there.

Positives - the bread, the olives, nice selection of wines by the glass, good service (friendlier than when they first opened), the antipasti platter, which varies in content, but has always been good, same with the cheeses, and the cookie plate. All the baked goods are made there. The peach caramel gelato I once had there was fabulous.

I'm wondering if there is someone different cooking at lunch vs. at dinner.

Edit: In contrast, all of the pasta dishes that I've had at Paola's - in 5-6 visits now - have been uniformly excellent and well-executed.

[Nancy S.]

Sfoglia has disappointed me. I thought it was extremely underwhelming. I wanted so much to like it, especially since I live one block away. However, I must say that I am not thrilled with any venue in our neighborhood.

[MMRuth]

Have you tried Paola's? It is expensive, and most of the time I've been there as someone's guest, but it really is good. And for value, can't beat the hamburger at Ottomanelli, IMO.

[MMRuth]

Here's a list I made a while back, by the way:

http://www.chow.com/lists/edit/37

[Blumie]

Awesome. Thanks a lot.