Portale

Alfred Portale’s New American dishes flourished for 34 years at Gotham Bar & Grill, where he also mentored chefs like Tom Valenti, Bill Telepan, Tom Colicchio and Wylie Dufresne early in their careers. He’s ventured on his own to brandish his Italian roots in Chelsea (truly an event). The space is modern, carved out of an old carriage house, and features a large private dining room upstairs. On Portale’s dinner menu is a range of snacks (fritto misto, meatball sliders), primi (spaghetti with seafood, risotto with hedgehog mushrooms) and secondi (roast pork with peppers, duck breast with Calabrian chili honey). For dessert get the phenomenal milk chocolate tiramisu.