Assaggio, Boston

One of the most popular restaurants in the North End for dinner is Assaggio. Located adjacent to St. Leonard’s Peace Garden down a narrow one-way street, the Italian grotto-like restaurant offers a full bar inside the brick façade. While red sauce dishes certainly make an appearance on the menu here, Assaggio specializes in a taste of authentic Italy, with appetizers like hot Italian stuffed cherry peppers, prosciutto with melon and hot antipasto with fried calamari and arancini. Main courses include the hearty specialty chicken stuffed with prosciutto, eggplant and smoked mozzarella topped with sun dried tomatoes, broccoli, artichokes and roasted red peppers tossed in a white wine sauce. Order freely from the full bar, then relax as the North End scenery walks by.