One If By the Land Two If By   

Since 1972, this unmarked West Village carriage house has been the setting for some of the city's most romantic meals. The sprawling wood bar, with its blazing fireplaces and a baby grand piano, looks out over a candlelit dining room and formal balcony, where tuxedoed servers pamper the special-occasion crowds with requisite pomp and pretense. In recent years, the continental three-course prix fixe has morphed into an exciting--and as expected, indulgent--internationally inspired menu. Start with puffy goat-cheese gnocchi napped in black-truffle butter, pancetta and sweet roasted onions, or pastry-topped seafood gumbo served with aromatic homemade breads. Rosy, sage-streaked duck breast pairs nicely with crispy confit, braised chanterelles and acorn-squash spaetzle, and the signature beef Wellington--a gigantic, buttery seared fillet slathered with foie gras and baked in pastry--is better than ever. The towering chocolate souffle, intensely flavored and light as air, is exemplary.