Fancy fare can be dandy, but it's often the simplest menu items - prepared with fresh, high-quality ingredients - that taste the best to me. A great example of this was a scrumptious apple crostata I tried recently at The Waterboy in midtown. Composed of tart-sweet apple slices baked in an irrisistibly flaky crust, the warm, individually-sized dessert was topped with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream and radiated comfort. It was simple, packed with flavor, and a satisfying, nurturing end to a first-rate lunch.

www.waterboyrestaurant.com