A smooth lil' Italian spot for Midtowners

Pronounced with a long "a" so it doesn’t sound like a much raunchier version of a Daddy Yankee song, Asellina’s a square sanctuary of Italian eats with a sexy glow from backlit mirrors wrapped around white oak-accented terra cotta walls, which lend it a far more casual look than both next-door neighbor/sister resto STK, and the original location in NYC's Flatiron district, where folks take their perms seriously

Lunch'll begin next week, and include wood-fired meatballs w/ cheese fonduta, flatbreads including sausage w/ broccolini & smoked mozzarella, spinach tagliatelle w/ three-meat ragu, and paninis like prosciutto w/ pickled 'shrooms & Val D'Aosta cheese, although not the kind that city makes from giving everybody driving to Daytona Beach a ticket

For later, there're cold apps like ahi tartar w/ cantaloupe, and beef carpaccio in lemon vinaigrette, plus pick-three meat/cheese plates (sopressata to fennel salame; pecorino to Taleggio), and pork belly w/ cannellini beans, homemade lasagna, and a burger w/ Fontina & truffle fries from their special "On The Board" menu, so don’t expect to see Erick Dampier on there anytime soon.