Trattoria Toscana (CLOSED)

There isn't a streetcorner in Italy without at least one simple, family-run trattoria, a place where hospitality goes hand in hand with homemade pasta. The fact that Trattoria Toscana would blend in so easily there is precisely what makes it stand out here, among Boston's many corny macaroni joints. Dotted with ceramics and landscapes of la campagna, it's as tastefully unpretentious as the food it serves: try robust bread-based soups like pappa al pomodoro or ribollita, followed by pretty much anything made with liver or own-made sausage - then sit back and relax with a textbook cappuccino.