Best Restaurant For Intimate Conversation

This tiny 40-seater, a renovated luncheonette, can be a little cramped if large parties are in the house. But for the most part, tables for two and four are the norm, which allows couples to whisper conspiratorially and foursomes to gossip about friends and neighbors without being overheard. Even more significant, chef-owner Tony Sindaco's open-kitchen cooking commands other customers' attention, so no one eavesdrops. Murmur to your heart's content, at least until your food arrives. Be warned that Sindaco's way with fish -- he makes a mean tuna Bolognese sauce and wraps salmon with thinly sliced potatoes -- tends to silence patrons temporarily, if not shut their mouths completely. Except for the appropriate chewing motions, of course.