On a leafy corner of the West Village sits Bar Pitti, an easy-going curiosity of people-watching and Italian rustic goodness. There is a hand-scribbled chalkboard menu of specials, and cramped, haphazard tables of comfortably worn wood, but also wide, generous plates and service with a wry smile.
A salad of chopped puntarelles, in season, with a bit of anchovy paste.
Sautéed mushrooms, a hodgepodge of juicy, meaty stems and charred edges, the poignant aroma of garlic and white wine and salt.
This plate of pappardelle with rabbit ragu, robust and chewy pasta and a lusciously rich mess of cooked-down rabbit and mirepoix.
And a gorgeous bone-in veal Milanese, topped with some salad. 
A fine way to spend an hour or two in the afternoon.
Bar Pitti (NYTimes)
268 6th Ave, New York, NY 10014
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House of Hao's 