Brick Oven Bistro, Ashland

In the kitchen, a brick oven crisps the crusts of gourmet pizzas piled with feta cheese, eggplant, alfredo sauce, and steak. Vivid murals of Roman temples and Italian landscapes overlook the dining room's simple wood-topped tables as guests dig into hot and cold subs, calzones, or strombolis. Traditional Italian dishes, such as chicken parmigiana, compete for attention with pasta dishes, which twirl around forks with the grace of a ballerina leaping into the saddle of an enormous swan.