Where to feed a Soprano

In the dining room at Barbetta (Newsday/Ari Mintz)

Tony's a Jersey boy, but there are plenty of places in the city that serve up the kind of hearty Italian food he's partial to. Here are 10 of our favorites.

MANHATTAN

CARMINE'S.If you've ever been to an Italian family dinner, you'll recognize this scene right away: huge plates of antipasti, gargantuan servings of fish, chicken, veal, or beef, monster plates of pasta, all served family-style, so everyone gets a taste. The atmosphere is boisterous, crowded, and happy, and the food is surprisingly tasty. Bring a crowd. (2450 Broadway --212-362-2200 -- and 200 West 44th Street --212-221-3800. Expect to pay about $50 for three courses)

FRANK. The place is tiny, the seating is cramped, and it's almost always jammed. There isn't a matching table or chair in the place. It can be noisy, and you'll wait for a table. So, why bother? Because it has a red sauce that tastes like the one your mother might have made if only she had known how. It has pastas - especially the lasagna - that are the talk of the neighborhood, and the prices are reasonable. (88 Second Avenue; 212-420-0202; expect to pay about $30 for three courses)

UMBERTO'S CLAM HOUSE. This is one place Tony might want to stay away from -- the legendary place where Crazy Joe Gallo got gunned down on an April night in 1972. In point of fact, though, it isn't that place -- the original Umberto's is gone; the restaurant moved to this location on Broome Street several years ago. Never mind: people still imagine gangsters stalking the room, even though the folks at the next table are more likely to be a family from Long Island. (178 Mulberry Street ; 212-431-7545; expect to pay about $35 for three courses)

BARBETTA. If Tony were in the mood for a romantic dinner, he couldn't do much better than this. Set in an elegant townhouse in the Theater District, Barbetta is one of the city's oldest Italian restaurants. For almost 100 years, the same family has been serving up Piedmontese specialties in a dining room graced with crystal chandeliers, Oriental rugs, and well-spaced tables. The service is Old World, and the menu is classic. (321 West 46th Street; 212-246-9171; expect to pay about $60 for three courses; prix-fixe is $49)

BALDORIA is the Theater District outpost of the legendary Rao's in Harlem. But unlike its parent, you can actually call up and get a reservation. The place is bigger than the one uptown, but the quality of the food is just as high. (249 W. 49th Street; 212-582-0460; prix-fixe: $35)

ROCCO'S PASTRY. Right on Bleecker Street, Rocco's is as authentic as it gets. Cheap, too. for about $2.50 you get a cappuccino Starbuck's can't match, plus a fine biscotti. That's breakfast. For an afternoon break, there's more coffee and a pastry. Don't skip the cannoli. (243 Bleecker Street; 212-242-6031)

BRONX

DOMINICK'S. If you have any brains at all, you don't go giving these waiters orders -- they tell you what's good, and you listen to them. Whatever it is, it's well-prepared, and there's plenty of it. Baked clams. Seafood pasta that comes with rafts of fish. Rigatoni with sauce redolent of garlic. Mussels marinara. Don't expect intime dining, though. Unless you arrive with a big group, you're likely to share a table. (2335 Arthur Avenue; 718-733-2807; expect to pay about $40 for three courses)

BROOKLYN

FRANKIE'S 457 SPUNTINO. In case you don't know what a spuntino is, let us be the first to enlighten you. According to the dictionary, it's a casual Italian restaurant, and the two Franks behind this place -- Castronovo and Falcinelli -- seem to have mastered the definition while keeping a neighborhood vibe. But that doesn't mean there's not meticulous attention paid to the food. Meatballs are delish. The braciola tastes the way grandma's should have tasted. There are sandwiches, made on good Sullivan Street bread and there are desserts: cheesecake, creme brulee, and prunes with mascarpone (457 Court Street; 718-403-0033; expect to pay about $25)

BAMONTE'S. If you had to choose one pasta dish to take to a desert island, it might just be Bamonte's ravioli, stuffed with cheese and served with a light, tomato sauce. Its perfection explains why the place has been a neighborhood favorite for the century or so it's been around. As the neighborhood has evolved, so has the décor (there's now a glass-enclosed kitchen in the back) and the clientele. Now, in addition to the old-timers there are the young, the hip, and the artistic. The waiters haven't changed, though: They keep the place on its toes, even when it's jammed. (32 Withers Street; 718-384-8831; expect to pay about $25)

QUEEN. If Tony ever had to face charges in Brooklyn, this is where his lawyer would undoubtedly be lunching. On a shabby stretch of Court Street near the courthouse, the venerable Queen keeps turning out dishes like veal stew with tomatoes and cream, scallops in white wine, a perfectly tender filet mignon, and a good selection of pastas. The dining room is as classic as the menu, with its crisp linen and efficient, well-ordered waitstaff. (84 Court Street; 718-596-5954; expect to pay about $40)