Like the old joke about the three most important things in real estate being location, location and location, it is always worth repeating that when it comes to cooking, the essentials are ingredients, ingredients and ingredients.

Without good ones a good cook cannot produce a good meal; without the finest a great chef will never show his mettle. On the rare occasion when both are in harmony, you get a great meal, which is what I enjoyed, from antipasti to dolci, at the three-year-old Lucciola on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.