Il Totano, the comeback project from original Top Chef winner Harold Dieterle, brings a Sicilian-leaning seafood menu to the former Flex Mussels space at 154 West 13th Street in Greenwich Village. Robert Sietsema’s “First Look” praises the vivid, lagoon-blue dining room and a lineup that makes dry-aging fish its calling card, crowning the translucent big-eye tuna layered over eggplant caponata one of 2024’s best dishes. Other standouts include royal red shrimp bathed in pepperoncini butter, fiery duck meatballs with quail egg and cavatelli, and a pork cotolette brightened with anchovies and chile-tinged salad, all paired with a quirky list of Italian wines by the glass. Dinner for two with drinks ran about $240, though the critic notes you can economize with house-baked olive bread; the meal closes on a playful tiramisu sundae. After a decade away from owning restaurants, Dieterle’s return signals fresh energy—and a showcase for the increasingly popular practice of treating seafood like charcuterie.