Chef Vincent Catalanotto opened his Metairie fine dining Italian restaurant 30 years ago, with many of the dishes reflecting his Sicilian roots. Beyond favorites like veal parm and chicken Marsala, Vincent’s house special is seafood cannelloni, tender pasta stuffed with shrimp, crawfish and crab simmered in a delicate rosa sauce – think the love child of red sauce and Alfredo.

This family-run swank spot in Lakeview has date night written all over it. RIzzuto’s dishes the likes of shrimp fra diavolo, homemade crab and lobster ravioli along with an array of prime beef that includes a big ticket 14 ounce prime spinalis steak. Expensive but worth it. Executive chef Jason Caronna is third generation - his immigrant grandparents ran a small grocery store in the Quarter.

This noisy trattoria is a neighborhood gem in the Marigny, a reclaimed warehouse space perfumed with garlic, tomato sauce, and pizza. The Paladar 511 menu is inventive - charred okra with Calabrian chili, squid ink spaghetti with crab meat - as well as nodding to the classics. Get the pork saltimbocca. Closed Tuesday, open for dinner every other night and brunch on the weekends.

Long ensconced on St. Phillip Street, Irene’s moved to BIenville last year, taking its garlicky goodness along for the ride. Namesake and proprietor Irene DiPierto, in business since 1993, sets a high bar with specialties like the Sicilian antipasti - big enough to share - and oysters Irene made with pancetta and pecorino Romano. Regulars were happy to see that the piano bar survived the move.

Love this real deal Italian in the Ace. Josephine Estelle is an osteria from James Beard Award-nominated Memphis chefs Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman, their first foray into New Orleans. Executive chef Chris Borges shines with a season-driven menu that includes homemade pastas (get the simply wonderful cacio e pepe!), softshells if it’s your lucky day, and the hanger steak with okra. Impressive cocktail and wine list too.

When James Beard award winning chef Rebecca Wilcomb imagined an Italian restaurant with partners Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski, she thought of her grandmother Gianna. The result, Gianna in the Warehouse District on Magazine, channels the comfort foods of her childhood along with smartly conceived regional Italian specialties. Although the menu is rustic, the setting is not - this is stylishly modern eatery. It’s worth noting that most of the management team running Gianna, from the chef to the GM, are women. Order the $50 “Feed Me” option, served family style, to get the chef’s choice from soup to nuts.

If images of gorgeous Sophia Loren aren’t enough to inspire you, take a look at Sofia’s menu. The pretty Julia street eatery boasts a warm and informed staff, a terrific happy hour, and a menu of modern Italian classics. The pizzas are delish, same goes for the pastas and the blue crab risotto. The $58 Creekstone Bistecca Fiorentina is as perfect as you’d get in Florence.

There’s nothing Creole Italian about chef Nick Lama’s upscale Avo, which means “grandfather” or “ancestor,” in Italian. The third generation Sicilian spotlights regional Italian cuisine and ingredients like figs, Gorgonzola, Calabrian chilies and every manner of homemade pasta. The food is gorgeous and informed by passion and allegiance to pristine ingredients. Get the meatballs, get the charred octopus, get yourself to Avo, Oh and check out the redone outdoor courtyard space, deputing at the end of September.