Sempre Vivolo

Carmine Vivolo came to America from Pozzuoli, in the Campagna region of Italy, and opened Villa Vivolo in Brooklyn in 1932. Now his grandson and great-grandsons run the Brooklyn restaurant and its sister, Sempre Vivolo, in Hauppauge. They purport to serve food like Mama used to make, but to be honest, there are plenty of folks out there whose mothers were too busy bringing home the bacon to whip it into a rich, creamy carbonara. This is especially true among the political power brokers who regularly meet in the granite foyer to wheel and deal over lunch in Sempre Vivolo's mahogany-walled dining room. Bold-faced names such as Andrew Cuomo and Alec Baldwin have been spotted debating important issues over Vivolo's famous seafood salad with olive oil and lemon, huge bowls of hearty pasta or broiled veal chops thicker than a law book. This elegant restaurant prides itself on being destination dining for special occasions, so don't even dream of showing up on a Saturday night without a jacket -- they're required.