2 Best Restaurants in Schenectady, Albany and Central New York

Locals love this place and have savored its Italian specialties since 1943. Start with the clams in wine, butter, oil, and garlic, or a hot antipasto. For a main course, consider the braciola, a longtime favorite; the tender rolls of beef are filled with sausage and baked in meat sauce. The restaurant is part of Schenectady's emerging Little Italy community on North Jay Street.

Shirt-and-tie wearers mix with jeans-and-sneakers types at this tiny Italian diner across the street from Union College. The best seats are at the counter, where you can watch the soup simmer and smell the tomato sauce. Melt-in-your-mouth eggplant parmigiana sandwiches are the specialty. Daily pasta dishes might include spaghetti, ravioli, or linguine with red or white clam sauce. On a cold day, warm up with a bowl of stracciatelli (a soup made with eggs, semolina, and cheese).