Nando Milano Trattoria Authentic Italian on Division

Coming to America can lead you to all kinds of places, from lazy sequels, to Distinguished originals that make you think maybe those lazy sequels weren't that bad after all. Of course, if you're not Eddie Murphy, but rather two Italian chefs making their first sojourn stateside, it can lead you to a cozy trattoria like Nando Milano, whose walls are lined w/ reclaimed floorboards, vintage spirit ads, and wine bottles interspersed with mirrors, in which you'll find yourself increasingly attractive.

They're planning on keeping the menu tight and frequently rotating the goods, but look for starters like eggplant bruschetta w/ shaved pecorino, chunky house giardiniera w/ pineapple, and sunny-side up eggs w/ parm over grilled asparagus that still won't crack and reveal why it makes your pee smell. Whyyyy, asparagus... WHYYYY!?!? From there move on to homemade tagliatelle w/ guanciale & spicy tomato sauce, parm-crusted risotto Amarone, and roasted taters topped by a breaded bone-in pork chop, also a popular stadium cheer among plus-size Atlanta Braves fans.

For sweetness you'll find tiramisu and zuccotto (layers of sponge cake w/ chantilly cream), and in spite of that wall of wine, they're starting out BYOB, though even if you fail to bring any, you can still look in that mirror and admire how much better you look than pretty much anything Eddie Murphy's done since Coming to America.