Babbo remains an important New York Italian restaurant with a strong pasta program, serious wine list and distinctive atmosphere, but current inconsistency keeps it at 3.5 stars.

A refined contemporary Italian appetizer of hollow, crisp puffed potato filled with warm smoked potato cream, finished with cold Oscietra caviar and vivid dill oil. Precise slicing, two-stage frying and last-second assembly create the essential contrast of crisp, creamy, warm, cool and saline.