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Paper Moon
Lust for labels may have brought you to Quadrilatero d'Oro, but this house-made tagliolini with shrimp and zucchini blossoms may inspire you to take up permanent residence. If you can get past the primi (first courses) and the wood-fired pizzas, try the heartbreakingly tender carpaccio with arugula and grana padano cheese with the sprightly white Vernaccia.
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Pattini & Marinoni
Non-stop, hot-out-of-the-oven action for under around €3 . Weekdays the wood bar is lined with working stiffs, ties tossed over one shoulder and hair tucked behind ears to dive into house-made pasta. After , art students and aperitivi revellers amble in for tomato and green olive foccacia, only to return hungover the next morning for brioches.
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Pizzeria Spontini
A hot slice isn't a fall back but a first-rate choice at this wood-fired pizza joint. The frosted-glass and chrome decor may be new, but traditionalists need have no fear: this is the same pizza dough recipe responsible for rejuvenating Corso Buenos Aires shoppers since 1953.
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Princi
Do baked goods taste better served on a black stone counter with a canal flowing through it? Avant-garde architect Claudio Silvestrin thought so, and you'll be inclined to agree while devouring your flaky apple strudel or foccacia slathered with fontina cheese and prosciutto.
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Ristorante Bagutta
The Ministry of Cultural Resources calls Bagutta a historical landmark, but your taste buds will call it fabulous: the tasty lamb chops with sage and the melt-away spinach gnocchi with gorgonzola have kept napkins expectantly tucked under chins here since 1920.
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Ristorante Cracco
It's only a matter of time until Milan names a street after chef Carlo Cracco, the master of Milanese invention. Dignitaries arriving with much fanfare in chauffeured Mercedes are quickly reduced to hushed awe as the seasonal menu materialises: seafood pasta with espresso sauce, salt-crusted sole and dark chocolate crochettes with caviar.
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Ristorante Solferino
Salivary glands have worked overtime here for a century, thanks to hearty classics like osso bucco swathed in risotto, unexpected delights like fish tortelloni, and an extensive vegetarian menu. Join Italian film stars risking their girlish figures with the in-house pastry chef's creations, and journalists steadily losing their objectivity over a superior wine selection.
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Sadler
The Biblioteca Ambrosiana of Milanese haute cuisine delivers higher education for the palate, with glassed-in bookcases of rare wines and comfy chairs for serious cram sessions. Get wise to scampi with quail eggs and caviar, lobster with polenta gnocchi, or classes (in Italian) with Claudio Sadler by prior arrangement.
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Serendib
Maybe it's fate, but you can call it serendibity to find this first-rate Sri Lankan restaurant just when you were in the mood for something hot and cheap that hasn't served time as a spokesmodel on Italian TV. Vegetarians rejoice at the hearty lentil and stewed vegetable options, while kukulmas (marinated chicken)is crowd-pleasing poultry.
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Taverna degli Amici
Expandable waist bands are going to be all the rage next season, if the eating habits of the fashion designers thronging the Amici are any indication. Prada, Etro, and Costume National converge here for lunch, and only naïve students from the nearby Design Institute choose the wan salad bar over the great grilled meats.
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Teatro7
Dinner theatre takes on new meaning with a web cam and open kitchen revealing three chefs at work on fusion creations, road-testing cutting-edge kitchen technology. Audience participation night is Tuesday, when diners cook their own gourmet meals under a chef's guidance - in Italian, with self-explanatory hand gestures.
