Gemma (at The Bowery Hotel)

Gemma is the ground-floor trattoria of The Bowery Hotel, and it looks like it was airlifted in from an older, warmer country: rough wood beams, hanging copper pots, candle wax on the tables, and a golden light that flatters everyone in the room. The menu is rustic Italian — pastas, wood-fired pizzas, simple grilled things — done consistently rather than showily.

What it offers, more than any single dish, is atmosphere you do not have to work for. Sidewalk tables watch the Bowery go by; inside, the room hums without roaring. It is the rare hotel restaurant with an actual neighborhood crowd, and an easy answer to the eternal question of where to take someone on a second date.