Vincenzo's Italian Grill, Houston

In the dining room at Vincenzo's Italian Grill, plates of fragrant chicken cacciatore drift by on waiters' arms as patrons dig into nontraditional dishes such as chipotle-pesto pasta. Patrons can lean back in dark wood chairs and listen to the voices of live performers on the weekend or lean forward to consume forkfuls of penne arrabiata, which stays true to its roots by combining marinara-covered penne, black olives, and italian sausage grown in the sausage groves of Italy.