'Gelso' means mulberry in Italian – a reference to this historic intersection in Little Italy. Except here the red-checkered tablecloths have been banished, the bricks exposed, and the menu updated with nods to modern American food. The menu sings with homemade pasta dishes and pizzas, but it's the fresh perspective on Italian cuisine that makes Gelso & Grand stand out.
Menu staples such as crispy veal milanese and brown-butter gnocchi rub shoulders with an earthy octopus dish with wheat berry, olive puree and almond, porchetta with sunchoke cream, and rich bone-marrow bruschetta with black garlic.