"Café Carmellini is a serious, sophisticated restaurant, with white linens on the tables and bow-tied service captains. The exquisitely appointed dining room is all blue and gold and rich brown woods, with soaring ceilings, full-sized faux trees, and discreet balcony-level box seating. The menu is not quite French, though it features French quantities of butter; it’s not quite Italian, though there is something undeniably Italian about the ecstatic approach Carmellini takes to vegetables. Scallops Cardoz, an homage to the late Indian American chef Floyd Cardoz, features the delicate shellfish bathed in a richly layered masala sauce, alongside basmati rice cooked with cardamom and viridian makrut lime leaves. Dinner at Café Carmellini is rich, no matter how many foam garnishes or how ascetic your ordering style." - Helen Rosner