Back in the 1970s a slew of Italian restaurants opened on Manhattan’s east side that elevated the cuisine and décor well above the Italian-American model of the past. Two of those were Il Monello (1974) and Nido (1979), stylish ristoranti opened by Tuscan-born Adi Giovanetti, who introduced a sophisticated service, many dishes never served in New York before and had a wine list of the best Italian wines then coming into the country.

Il Monello—the name means “little rascal”—then on 76th Street and Second Avenue, closed, re-opened and then was sold to Steve Haxhiaj, who had worked for Giovanetti, but shuttered again in 2008. (Il Nido closed a few years later; Giovanetti passed away soon after.)