Tom,
Thanks much for the recommendation of El Brellin. I made a reservation there after reading your post, then had two other people suggest it - our Airbnb hosts, and our taxi driver! The food was excellent, classic Milanese (I even had the risotto). We ate inside the restaurant, which is lovely, and the service was terrific. Also, Navigli was a revelation - what a cool area and neighborhood. We only had two nights in the city and I wasn’t so impressed with central Milan, but Naviigli has real life and energy and changed my opinion much for the better.