By Chris Crowley

After 41 years in the West Village, frequent Lindsay Lohan paparazzi destination and Italian trailblazer Da Silvano has served its last osso buco. Owner Silvano Marchetto tells the New York Post that the restaurant is "closed forever" following last night's service and it sounds as if he's simply tired of the grind. Operating costs sound like they played a factor as Silvano says the restaurant has seen its rent rise from $500 in 1975 dollars to its current rate of $41,000.

The restaurant hadn't necessarily aged well, but it once stood out for its Northern Italian food when New York was swimming in a sea of Italian-American red sauce. It continued to attract celebrities like Sean Penn and Madonna, and thanks to a constant throng of regulars and tourists, it seemed like the kind of restaurant that would stay open forever. In a year of significant and unexpected closings, this might be the most surprising one yet.

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Source: http://www.grubstreet.com/