Greenwich Street and North Moore Street

The “riffs on Italian cooking” at Locanda Verde (in the form of crab bruschetta, grilled octopus, and orecchiette with duck sausage, for example) were wonderful recently, but the place is so popular that it’s hard to get a reservation. (And I waited for more than an hour for a walk-in table on a holiday weekend when the city was empty). So maybe it’s not worth the hassle at this point (there seems to be similar excellent Italian-style food all over town). Or maybe the thing to do is check into the adjoining Greenwich Hotel and show up for breakfast. (Or buy the Urban Italian cookbook. Here are a few recipes from the chef that appeared in Food and Wine.)