Tried to head to Rino's in East Boston--twice. The first time, we checked their hours and showed up to a note on the door that said they were on vacation. The second time, we showed up to a two-hour wait. The hostess (as well as Yelp) recommended a place around the corner called Mario's.

Boy, am I ever glad she did: that's the place that should have been on DDD! Can't speak for Rino's, but Mario's featured the world's most affable owner/waitress/cook/busser--whose mom only speaks Italian. Huge portions of delectable dishes from simple but quality ingredients. Yum!