July 3 (Bloomberg) -- Gordon Ramsay, Britain's leading source of noise pollution, should get an internship with New York chef Riccardo Buitoni, a master of chill.

How relaxed is Buitoni? He occasionally sips wine during dinner service at his new Manhattan restaurant, Aurora.

Not much, just a splash.

He isn't slacking off. He looks aware and calm. He should help our dear friend Ramsay.

Initial sighting: Buitoni was standing outside Aurora wearing black designer glasses and blinding chef's whites. He's rightly dapper; anything less would be out of place in Soho.

This is the restaurant's second branch. (The first is in Brooklyn.) Expect the rustic chic of the original: brick walls, wood tables and candlelight. Expect inexpensive Italian fare; Buitoni designed both menus.

Second sighting: The chef was at the bar, enjoying a few sips of sparkling wine from Emilia-Romagna.

That wine, by the way, wasn't a spumante. It was a ``frizzante'' -- gentler than full-force fizzy, more Pellegrino than Pepsi.

I ordered. Would the chef finish his wine?

No. He left for the kitchen.

Black summer truffles fly freely -- literally. Sit by the open windows and watch your trifolati shavings quiver with the breeze. Eat quickly so they don't blow away.

So many truffles. They are scattered about a lobster salad -- with porcini, for double the fungus oomph. They gently warm themselves atop butter-sauced homemade tagliatelle.

Without Truffles

There's truffle-free fare too. Squash blossoms are stuffed with buffalo mozzarella and anchovy, then fried to a tempura crisp. They're to be eaten with your hand.

So are the lamb chops, grilled rare with lamb sausage. Gnocchi? Use a fork. The soft pillows get a dose of diced tomatoes and a cool dollop of peekytoe crab.

In the mood for a blueberry mojito or watermelon martini? Neither am I. If you're smart, you'll pick something more Italian.

Like an Americano.

It's the best part of a Negroni -- Campari and sweet vermouth -- topped with club soda. The Americano isn't on the cocktail list, but it should be; it's much more deserving of a spot than the cucumber martini.

Order dessert. Panna cotta is spiked with fennel pollen and paired with rhubarb compote. Aged balsamic completes the affair.

Sicilian Beaujolais

Third sighting: Buitoni approached the bar and poured a bit of what appeared to be frappato, a light Sicilian red with a pronounced strawberry palate. Some call it Sicilian Beaujolais.

This time, Buitoni took the vino with him.

Fourth sighting: The chef was peering out of the kitchen into the dining room, observing that all was well.

My two dinners, which included three courses and two drinks each, cost $73 and $80.

Aurora Soho is at 510 Broome St., near West Broadway. Information: +1-212-334-9020.

Latin Hot Spot

Can sea urchin withstand the powerful rocoto pepper? Can Manhattan diners withstand sub-par air conditioning? Can I have another quince cocktail?

Yes. Yes. Yes.

This is the case of Rayuela, a Nuevo Latino restaurant and cocktail lounge on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

For the giant bilevel space, chef Maximo Tejada gives us a giant 47-item menu. There's snapper with yucca, sweetbreads with quince, quail with quinoa. To keep things cool as things got hot, I sampled only raw fish and cocktails.

How hot was it?

Patrons at the slate-top bar were fanning themselves with dinner menus. The bar and lounge, by the way, were packed.

Things were cooler upstairs. Pastel-green banquettes are separated by white curtains. An outdoor terrace allows for al fresco cocktailing.

Ceviche -- raw fish marinated in citrus -- was the official temperature regulator. Lobster got a bit of sweet from coconut water, a bit of heat from jalapeno. Uni didn't lose its powerful musk or silky texture amid rocoto pepper and grapefruit juice. Watermelon cubes mingled with tuna in a pool of lemon-grass citrus sauce.

The ambitious cocktail program, concocted by Junior Merino, cools the palate after spicy ceviches. Merino, formerly of the Modern, mixes pan-Latin ingredients with European and American spirits.

(Of course, mezcal, tequila and pisco show up as well.)

Cocktail Salad

Rye gets guava; gin gets grapefruit and sherry. Mezcal is paired with Cointreau. Tequila, pineapple and cucumber join forces. Vodka, sage and pear become one.

The fruit-and-alcohol combinations are clever, and they almost work. But many of Merino's libations were insufficiently chilled. The alcohols were hard to detect amid the sugary fruit. And most of these recipes lack the sweet-sour balance that fruited drinks require.

Merino could make Rayuela a serious cocktail destination -- with a little tweaking, a dash of lemon and some ice.

Drinks for two cost $48. Drinks plus three ceviches and one dessert cost $83.

Rayuela is at 165 Allen St., between Rivington and Stanton streets. Information: +1-212-253-8840; http://www.rayuelanyc.com.

(Ryan Sutton is a writer for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this story: Ryan Sutton in New York at rsutton1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 3, 2007 00:20 EDT