Boston’s Italian side: Arrivederci, Puritanism!

Ask an outsider about the food in Boston and you’re likely to get the wrong impression, said Leila Cohan-Miccio in Saveur.com. No longer is it a “Puritan city, with bland food and early closing times to match.” Boston’s bars still could stand to keep longer hours, but many of its restaurants are terrific, and especially those of the Italian variety. “Gone are the days when the cuisine was limited to mediocre tourist-baiting restaurants in the North End.” Chefs like Jamie Bissonnette and Marc Orfaly are “turning out food as fresh, innovative, and fun as anything you’d get in New York or Chicago.”

Sportello Barbara Lynch’s charming take on an Italian lunch counter is one of the reasons she’s the “biggest culinary name in the city.” Try Sportello’s heirloom tomato salad studded with crab, watermelon, and basil. It proves “just how sweet a savory bite can be.” 348 Congress St., (617) 737-1234

Marco Lobster is a must in Boston, and it doesn’t get much better than Orfaly’s lobster bucatini fra diavolo. The dish marries “screamingly fresh lobster, super-simple pomodoro sauce, and lots and lots of red pepper.” 253 Hanover St., (617) 742-1276

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Coppa In the trendy South End, Coppa “has held on to the title of Hottest Table for some time now.” So “mingle with Boston’s smart set” over Bissonnette’s incredible Sicilian fisherman’s pizza, a thin-crust pie piled with fried calamari, sweet cherry peppers, tomato, and a healthy shower of Parmesan. 253 Shawmut Ave., (617) 391-0902