Missypie, have you and your family been to John's on West 44th? The building used to be a church and still has stained glass and the balcony. You can get entrees or pizzas, all are very good and very reasonable which is important when you start multiplying entrée prices by 5 and 6 people - not funny!

http://www.johnspizzerianyc.com/index2.htm

Right...sorry....I did attempt to hijack the thread a bit. We are a family of 5 (kids ages 16, 14 and 11) and we're looking for good, basic Italian food. "Fancy" would be a negative for us.

Bugswife, nice explanation & list! Thanks!

missy, the all you can eat at Becco are kitchen staff coming out of the kitchen with three different freshly made types of pasta, one is usually ravioli and only one is red sauce.

It isn't some steam table serving stuffed shells, lasagna, meatballs, etc.

It is very good and probably the best dining deal in Midtown because it also includes the anti pasta.

Yes, the tables are close together but get a bottle of wine and you will not care.

Johns might work well for us before we see Legally Blonde at the Palace Theatre. Thanks. You're so right about multiplying prices by 5. It always seems so reasonable ... "dinner for 2 under $100"....but that translates to $250 for a family of 5. Can't quite handle that for a "normal" meal!

mssypie, I was not being sarcastic. I think Becco is one of the best midtown bargains. I don't have the same complaints that mclaurie has.
As for not liking one of the pastas, well, if that happens, you can just east as much of the other two as you want! So, I don't consider that a problem.
As for noise, I don't find it any noisiers that most other restaurants.
And, finally, one other plus about Becco: It has an excellent and varied selection of inexpensive wines.
PS: It's only 2 1/2 blocks from the Palace.
Just be sure to make reservations!

If you are in the East Village, I think Paprika is an excellent choice and a real bargain. Yes, it's name is Paprika, but it is definitely an Italian restaurant run by Italians from Italy--Venice I believe. If this means anything to you, all the Italian on the menu is spelled correctly.

Located on St Marks Place (8th St) between 1st Ave and Ave A, it is a casual place and everything I've even had there had been delicious--excellent delicate gnocchi, artichoke ravioli, pappardelle with appropritely gamey sauces, an impeccable branzino dish that most recently wowed me.

Another interesting fact-- they have an incredibly reasonable prix fixe meal featuring a choice of 3 different salads and 3 different main courses for $12.95 before 7 pm. The wine list is good. I'm particularly fond of two of their desserts: a tiramisu as good as I've ever had and a panna cotta served with a fig-balsamic reduction.

I'd much rather eat here than at John's on 12th St. And if I wanted dessert somewhere else, I'd go to DiRobertis pastry shop on First Ave rather than the much-hyped Veniero's across the street.

I am also very fond of Trattoria Trecolori in the theater district for it's reasonable prices in a difficult area for such dining.