Chefs Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli founded Don Angie in 2017, a modern Italian American restaurant celebrating the red sauce cuisine synonymous with Italians in America. The restaurant has achieved plenty of acclaim, earning and then losing a Michelin star, publishing a popular cookbook under the title Italian American, and achieving fame on social media like TikTok. Perhaps no better symbol of their success is the famous spiral lasagna dish.

I don’t often have a chance to eat lunch during the week. Back when people still went to midtown, I might get out to lunch a few times a year. There’s nothing as decadent as eating lunch on a random Wednesday afternoon when most normal people are at work. But it’s also a great time to accidentally find yourself at one of the hottest restaurants in the city.