This late-night Francophile hangout with its airy, mirrored dining room, tiled floors and white paper tablecloths has none of the fussiness associated with French restaurants. Each meal begins with an individual hot mini baguette-in-a-bag served on the table, minus bread plate. Favoured perches are along the wall of windows looking out on Boston's Avenue of the Arts, named because of its proximity to museums, art schools and Symphony Hall. The restaurant is a hot spot for post-symphony snacks such as Brasserie Jo's signature steak and frites and the Alsace golden tarte l'onion, foie gras terrine and choucroute. Main dishes cost from US$18 to US$30.

75 Chestnut

75 Chestnut Street

Beacon Hill, a 19th-century residential neighbourhood, is famous for its brick row houses, gas street lamps and intimate feeling in the heart of downtown. And where do the residents go for contemporary regional American cooking? 75 Chestnut is an elegant but non-stuffy nook of a restaurant that locals prefer is kept quiet. It uses only local products on a menu that includes Nantucket Bay scallops, venison and the freshest of wild fish - caught, no doubt, by a Boston fisherman. Mains cost US$8 to US$19.

Lala Rokh

97 Mount Vernon Street

A visit is like slipping into the plot of a romantic Persian novel - and, in fact, this small restaurant's name was inspired by a tale of a legendary Persian princess. This brother-and- sister-owned jewel serves family recipes that date back 16 generations. With the family's collection of tapestries, etchings and miniatures on display and traditional Persian music in the air, exotic tastes are aplenty, with appetisers such as Kashk-e ademjan (velvety roasted eggplant with a hint of mint oil). One of the oldest recipes on the menu is khoresht-ghormeh sabzi (leg of lamb, aromatic greens

and the surprising limo-amanu, a dried lemon-lime hybrid from Iran). The food is sensational and, as co-owner Babak Bina says, 'We're not here just to fill your stomach. We want to fill your soul.' Mains cost US$18 to US$25.

Bob's Southern Bistro

604 Columbus Avenue

When it comes to soul, Bob's in the South End is the place to go. For close to 50 years, locals with a craving for down-home soul food and camaraderie have headed to Bob the Chefs, an institution with deep roots in the city. Once a luncheonette, Bob's is sporting a new name and a spiffed-up interior, but the corn bread, 'glorified' chicken, black-eyed peas and collard greens are still just as good. The ribs are burnished with a secret barbecue sauce invented in the 50s by the late Bob, and a few drops from the big bottle of red-hot sauce on every table really heat up the food. And the temperature soars when Shanell Grant and her E-Water Band take to the stage to teach the real meaning of soul. Expect to pay US$12 to US$18 for mains.

Artu

6 Prince Street

This isn't a restaurant, it's a trip to Italy. Understated and affordable, the family-run establishment is in the heart of Boston's Italian neighbour- hood, the North End. If it's a cliche to say 'just like grandma [or nonna] used to make it', then so be it. Chef-owner Nancy Frattaroli was so short she couldn't reach the top of the stove when she started cooking in her grandmother's tiny kitchen. Today, her grandmother's and mother's recipes (and mother still makes occasional appearances in the kitchen to keep an eye on things) are highlights of Artu's southern Italian menu. From the 100 per cent homemade manicotti to the penne alla puttanesca that one patron claimed left him speechless, the food is stunning. Main dishes cost US$11 to US$23.