Call three months TO THE DAY ahead of when you want to go, and you should be okie. Most NYC restaurants are the same way, just make sure you call far enough in advance.

Babbo takes reservations "up to one month in advance to the numerical date."

Details here: http://babbonyc.com/reservations.html

Babbo's reservation line usually opens at 10AM sharp. You'll almost always get a busy signal for the first 30 minutes. But, it you persist for at least that long, you'll definitely get in. They only have one or two people manning the phones and you have to figure that they can only answer so many phone calls in the first 30 minutes. So, it pays to be persistent and keep redialing for as long as you can.

Most of the best restaurants in New York are exactly the same set up. The only difference between the restaurants is what time do their lines open, and whether it's one month to the numerical day or one month to the day of the week. Most are to the numerical day, but you need to call ahead to be sure of those details.

If I can offer a suggestion, it would be to request a table upstairs. The downstairs is a lot noisier than upstairs due to the proximity to the bar located by the entrance.

Which brings up another point. I don't recommend doing walk-in service because they only seat you at the tables literally right in the entrance, which is right in the middle of the bar standing area/waiting line to be seated. And, you won't be able to enjoy your food without 20 people rubbing up against you the entire time. Unless that appeals to you, then by all means.

Whether you get into Babbo or not, I recommend visiting Mario Batali's wine shop in New York, the Italian Wine Merchants.

Most of the wines on the restaurant's wine list can be found in this shop. And, if I remember correctly, some of the wines are not sold anywhere else in the US.