I’ve thought long and hard about whether or not I want to tell you about my secret…but I’ve decided that, in the spirit of Christmas and giving and all, I simply must share: I’ve found one of the city’s best Italian restaurants. And it’s located directly next to the Port Authority.

I discovered Trattoria Casa di Isacco while walking home from work one day last winter – it’s located on a pretty dilapidated stretch of 9th Avenue, and yet the window display stopped me dead in my tracks: it was filled with gorgeous meats, huge platters of fresh bufala mozzarella, and pears stewing in brandy. Soon afterwards, I went back with Kendrick and my parents to check the place out.

Each and every dining experience I’ve had at Trattoria Casa di Isacco has been unforgettable. The atmosphere? Exactly what you’re looking for on a cold night in New York City: string lights, cozy tables, brick walls, and Italian opera playing over the sound system. The food? I do not exaggerate when I say that the sopressata is the best I’ve ever had, and that the manchego cheese and olives take me straight back to Italy. But the best part of the experience is Isacco himself, who bustles between tables handing out tastes of his favorite antipasti, bursting into song, and pulling enormous barrels of house-made grappa off the wooden shelves for patrons to smell (try the fig and pear…they’re to-die-for). 

(Pictured above is a pounded veal with mozzarella salad dish that isn’t on the menu, but that Isacco has made specially for my dad in the past, and that I couldn’t help but order for myself on Saturday. I am not a huge veal fan, but this? This is spectacular.)