Aiello's

Aiello's family-owned and family-operated eatery was founded by executive chef Joe Aiello. His lunch menu of paninis, heroes, and pastas helps to satisfy midday meatball-hero cravings ($12), and the dinner menu serves up a satisfyingly complete selection of Italian eats. Start with an order of the mozzarella carozza, a house-made cheese sandwiched between sheets of semolina and bathed in eggs before being sautéed in a rich sauce of capers, anchovies, lemon, and wine ($7), or go for an order of the crisp fried calamari ($10) before moving on to the dinner's dramatic second act. Oceanographers will want to dive in and explore the linguini fradiavolo, a rich pasta dish made with clams, shrimp, mussels, and calamari ($22), while pasta protestors pore over their selection of specially prepared proteins, such as the tender veal picatta ($19) or the portobello-mushroom-topped filet mignon ($25). Your Groupon is also good for the backdoor pizza, made in batches of only 50 per night and sold to go from the back door only (18”, $16+).