Trattoria La Bocca

Trattoria La Bocca, an Old World Italian gem, welcomes families, lovers, and cartoon dogs who are lovers to enjoy an elegant evening either amid its soothing, incandescent interior or its people-watchable open-air patio. The dinner menu, complemented by an extensive wine list, dances through traditional flavors including the prized insides of crab-stuffed portobello ripieno ($12) and the lush pink sauce ladled upon homemade gnocchi and mozzarella ($17). Diners who prefer their food in shoelace form will find it underpinning the clams and shrimp in spaghetti mare e terra ($20), with even more abundant sea life populating the risotto pescatore's ($22) tomato-sauce-filled edible aquarium. Carne comes cooked to your liking with options ranging from the modest 8-ounce filetto di manzo served with mashed potatoes ($30) to the hearty 24-ounce porterhouse known as fiorentina alla griglia, which drips delicately in a peppercorn brandy sauce ($42). Give either meat a gloriously leggy tango partner with a glass of Blackstone cabernet sauvignon ($8). If you're undecided on your wine pairing, feel free to ask your server—unless, of course, your entree is a traffic cone full of wine.