Carmine's Restaurant   

With two Manhattan locations -- Midtown and the Upper West Side -- Carmine's packs them in with simple, solid, family-style Italian food. The Times Square incarnation is perpetually busy, and not just because it's located in the heart of the Theater District. Diners know a good thing when they eat it. This spaciously handsome haunt recreates the experience of an Italian-American wedding feast. Massive portions of home-style pastas, salads, seafood and meats are dished up on vast trenchers designed for sharing. Prices might seem steep at first, but do the math: A $20 plate of rustic rigatoni is actually dirt cheap when it's split four ways. Reservations are only taken for parties of six or more during peak hours. If you don't meet that criteria, the wait to snag a table is interminable -- once you get on the list the hostess gives you a vibrating beeper so you can walk around the neighborhood and return when summoned. -- Raven Snook