Del Posto   

85 10th Ave
New York, NY 10011
212-497-8090
www.delposto.com

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It's hard to imagine anything bigger than Mario Batali -- the orange clogs, the FoodTV shows, the three-star New York restaurants -- but Del Posto might fit the bill. Even the outsize ponytailed personality, who rocked the restaurant world with the old-meets-new Italian at Babbo and Lupa, is dwarfed by his "cucina classica" near the West Side Highway. The two-level, twenty-thousand square foot-plus space, a collaboration with Joseph Bastianich and Lidia Bastianich, is grand and shiny. Think Visconti meets Venice in Vegas. Bronza and marble decor, a dramatic central staircase and valet parking make it feel palatial. Warm lighting, orange curtains and a balcony lounge make it intimate. It'll take repeat visits to fully wrap your mind around the massive menu (which also includes a separate 10-course tasting menu), a mix of traditional and modern eclectic Italian. Antipasti alone are ample, like cotechinno with lentils, and cuttlefish and octopus in zimino. A pasta selection is plentiful, with bucatini and orechiette among the highlights. Duck porchetta, squab with wild arugula, leg of lamb with carciofi, almonds and rutabegas, and a salt-baked arctic char with cauliflower ragu and panelle can feed a mid-sized Mediterranean family -- and maybe cost more than its annual household income. It's an exhaustive and exhilarating experience. Would you expect anything less from larger-than-life Batali?