The Scene: When this antique store opened in 1994, its hidden kitchen quickly became an in-the-know favorite. Artisanal Italian ingredients, stellar wines and serious service steadily raised its rank among foodies, while romantics flocked to dine in the 200-year-old candlelit cantina. The livelier rooms upstairs, festooned with funky kitchen bric-a-brac chandeliers and farmhouse furniture, are packed until midnight.

David Rosengarten of Gourmet calls il Buco "one of the best, most exciting restaurants in the whole of America... Lately, after a string of spectacular evenings at il Buco, I've been uttering the restaurant's name in response to the question 'What restaurant should I go to on my one night in New York?'. To my taste, il Buco is that good, and that special...."

The New York Times' and Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl elaborates: "The restaurant is unlike any other in New York ...It is easy to imagine that you've wandered into a little place in a back street of Madrid. The food certainly fosters the illusion: eating your way through this menu of tapas and appetizers is an exhilarating experience. The food is so good that with a group of six or seven it is tempting to go right through the menu."

www.ilbuco.com

Solicited by Juliet Pederson