I would be doing you a disservice sending you to an Italian restaurant in Little Italy. Sadly, the pasta, antipasta and cannolis youll get on this touristy strip will be nowhere near as good as the Italian food youll find pretty much anywhere else in NYC. What I can recommend in the neighborhood is this spiffy gastro-diner, a counter service joint thats an unusually pleasant place to dine thanks to massive windows that allow light to stream into the simple, high-ceilinged space; and a staff thats almost Midwestern in their friendliness. The fare is what youd find at a roadside joint in California: tacos, burgers, fish and chips, fried green tomato sandwiches, and salads, but all is crafted from antibiotic- and hormone-free proteins. "Frylow" cooking techniques mean that the fried dishes have 50% fewer calories than usual (or so Genuine claims). That also means "fry slow" so dont come here if youre in a hurry. But Id say the food, particularly the buttermilk battered chicken sandwich (which comes mounded with apple and celeriac slaw and a succulent lathering of sambal mayo), makes up for the wait. Beer, cocktails and wine supplement the food, as does ice cream concoctions from Oddfellows.