"[One of my] my favorite things is the electronic Wine Bar, because our guests are welcomed by a gorgeous curtain of Swarovski crystals and can try up to 24 wines by the glass in our electronic wine-dispensing system." - Marisa May, co-owner SD26

Tony May, born Antonio Magliulo near Naples, Italy, made it to New York in 1963 and set about changing the landscape of New York City Italian forever. In 1988, his first restaurant as a proprietor, San Domenico, opened at 240 Central Park South, just a few yards from Columbus Circle and for two decades shone as a beacon of what New York City Italian should be. But as the famous song by Bob Dylan goes, "the times they are a-changin'," so in late 2008, Tony May and his effervescent daughter/partner Marisa decided it was time to saddle up to another park: Madison Square Park. Their new location on 26th Street is really a different restaurant altogether, keeping only the initials of the former flagship eatery in homage. SD26 has three-levels, 14,000 square feet, and its 300 seats are double the allotment they had at San Domenico. Tony, although still a dapper gent at 73, has largely turned the reins over to Marisa, and it shows in the sleek new décor by designer Massimo Vignelli, and the younger Flatiron District clientele.

The cuisine has changed fairly drastically but mostly in presentation, with the most highly touted menu items at SD26 being their pastas - which have always been legendary. But there are certainly some colorful additions, like veal sweetbreads with coffee essence olive oil, and baby turnips as well as Octopus carpaccio with sundried tomato and fine herbs. The salumeria and formaggeria sections of the menu get much more attention than they did at San Domenico -so much in fact that you can actually purchase them to-go from a separate part of the restaurant. The metamorphoses from San Domenico into SD26 can be summed up simply thus: it looks vastly different, but tastes very familiar. 

19 East 26th Street • 212-265-5959 •  sd26ny.com         

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