One of my go-to spots when I lived in NYC was Cotenna, an Italian restaurant in the West Village. It was tiny, intimate, and affordable, and my girlfriends and I absolutely loved it.
The service was always great, the wine was always cheap, and the pasta was always delicious. Everything about the place just felt warm. And something about Garten’s weeknight pasta — which focuses on classic, approachable Italian ingredients — brought me right back there.