Antico Forno • Boston

Antico Forno, located in Boston’s North End, is known for traditional Italian meals, cooked in a brick oven that takes up most of the back wall. That includes pies, for sure, but they also cook pasta dishes and other entrees, setting the restaurant apart from others. Most dishes are under $20, big enough for sharing.

The atmosphere is like sitting around an Italian dining room table. Comfortable and homey – loud at times – exactly how this place should be. You need to try the homemade gnocchi – covered with basil and plum tomato sauce, topped with thick slabs of mozzarella cheese, thrown into their large brick oven for the last few ‘finishing’ minutes. For pizza, try their Vesuvio pizza – fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers, ricotta cheese, cherry tomatoes – finished off with freshly sliced prosciutto.

Visit: 93 Salem Street, Boston MA; 617-723-6733; anticofornoboston.com