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There are restaurants where you go for good food, drink, and ambiance.

And then there are restaurants where you go not just for the culinary experience but to be transported to another place and time.

That’s not to say that I love the Cerbone family’s Manducatis in Long Island City, Queens, New York, just for the nostalgia. Over the years, I have found the food there to be consistently and reliably excellent, homemade, wholesome, and wonderfully balanced.

And the wine list continues to stand apart and above as one of New York City’s most compelling wine destinations.

But there’s a lot of nostalgia there to enjoy as well, evoking a time when family-owned, literally mom-and-pop Italian restaurants could be found throughout the city.

In February of this year, I had the great fortune of visiting my longtime friend Anthony Cerbone (in the first image) with a group of top wine professionals.

Anthony’s father Vincenzo was a pioneer of Italian wine in the U.S. And the program he created is now guided in equally brilliant measure by the son.

While the list would be exceptional by any measure because of its breadth, it’s also and primarily the vertical depth that makes it so unique in the panorama of today’s wine world. Case in point: look what we drank that day (I wasn’t buying!).

At the same meal, we also opened a 1969 Taurasi by Mastroberardino. It was a bit oxidized so we drank it as an aperitif.

I can’t think of anywhere else in the world where you could go from 69 Taurasi to 86 Bordeaux with just the flip of a page. Incredible!

When you go visit Manducatis, please tell Anthony — a wonderful guitarist as well — that I sent you. Don’t even ask to look at the menu. Just let his mother cook for you. And when you’re sated, ask for dessert.

I really, really love this place. Not just for the many unforgettable nights I’ve spent there but for the warmth and humanity of the people who run this national culinary treasure. I can’t recommend it enough. You’ll never forget it.