Italian Restaurants on Salem Street in Boston, Mass.

This little restaurant makes, and keeps, big promises. Depending on the size of the parties on any given night, the restaurant might hold no more than 10 tables. Each of these has a view of the kitchen where the food is prepared and styled for presentation. Start the meal with fritters made from Maine lobsters. This might not sound Italian, but call it frittelle di aragosta, serve it atop a balsamic honey glaze and pile on a pyramid of crunchy deep-fried shoestring vegetables, and who's to say?

Open faced ravioli? Why not? This dish of sea scallops, shrimp and zucchini is folded into a sheet of fresh pasta then napped with a lobster mascarpone cream. Cheese sauces are a theme here, and they work quite well. Homemade Italian sausages are split and grilled and served with fried polenta, broccoli rabe and melted fontina cheese. Try the ravioli di fichi con maiale, a beautiful dish consisting of a seared veal medallion surrounded by six raviolis filled to golfball size with a fig and walnut center and drizzled with a mascarpone and date puree. Given the limited space, reservations are a must.

Terramia Risorante
98 Salem St.
Boston, MA 02113
(617) 523-3112
terramiaristorante.com

This moderately priced Salem Street restaurant stays a bit closer to the traditional Italian repertoire, but offers good value for reliably good fare. Almost any dish served on a bed of red pepper risotto is worth trying. The one to try here is boneless chicken stuffed with prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, spinach, sauteed red peppers and garlic. The chicken is pounded thin, rolled and pan-seared. The dish is topped with a gorgonzola cream sauce.

Veal is a staple in the North End. Here there are seven choices. Among the best is veal sorrentino, again pounded thin and layered with eggplant, prosciutto and fresh mozzarella in a dry vermouth mushroom sauce. There is a children's menu of four entrees priced at either $7 or $8 in 2009.

Al Dente Ristorante
109 Salem Street
Boston, MA
(617) 523-0990
aldenteboston.com

Dinner is upstairs in this two-level restaurant on Salem Street. Wine is front and center with nothing on the list at either extreme of the price range. While there are few choices under $30, still, Dom Perignon caps the high end of the list at $150 as of 2009.

Although the emphasis is on more refined northern Italian cuisine, scallops putanesca is on the menu as well with its deep southern flavors of kalamata olives, capers, fresh tomatoes and anchovies. Most pasta and risotto dishes are under $20. Try the chicken carbonara with roasted garlic fettuccine, pancetta and peas.

Bacco
107 Salem St.
Boston, MA 02113
(617) 624-0454
bacconorthend.com/