Peasant

Candles everywhere, wax built up on the tables in places, a few church pews among the seats, and the smell of the wood fire from the open kitchen hanging over the whole room. Peasant has been one of Elizabeth Street's dark, slow, candlelit dinners for a long time, and it still is.

The kitchen's fire does the work: octopus, roasted skate, suckling pig, braised goat. Start with burrata from Di Palo's, the Little Italy cheese shop a few blocks south, and the bread service; finish with torta caprese. Come with someone you want to talk to.