One of the very best old-time Southern Italian restaurants was Downtown NY, Grand St., in Little Italy. It was called Ruggero. It was diagonally across the street from the famous Ferrara's Pastry Shop. Another nice place with great food, more casual, was Angelo's on Mulberry Street. It was there since the days of Lucky and Vito.

A top place on the Upper East Side, Northern Italian cuisine, was called "Nanni au Valetto"....

They're both long gone now, but decades back they were among our favorites. I think Angelo's may still be there (but its not the same kinda neighborhood anymore)