Bites Nearby: Greg's Restaurant

Virtually every town in America once had a Greg's Restaurant, although it was more likely called "Giovanni's" or "Rillo's." This is Italian-American fare like your grandparents ate on a night out – chicken parmesan, pasta with red sauce, shrimp scampi and veal dishes. One food reviewer calls Greg's: "an old-school New England red sauce joint" – meaning it as a compliment or a caution, depending on one's expectations.

Located just near the Watertown-Cambridge line, at 821 Mt. Auburn St., Greg's is known for its early-bird special dinners, 4-6 p.m. on Monday-Friday, and 4-5:30 p.m. on Saturday, when you can get a meal for around $15.

What to eat: Chicken parmesan, veal parmesan, lasagna, eggplant parmesan, steaks, and lunch specials and sandwiches. Reviews seem to vary widely, mostly depending on whether one was expecting basic Italian-American fare (you'd like it) or gourmet-like meals (you might not).

The vibe: A contributor to the food website Yelp.com has put it this way:
"It [Greg's Restaurant] is utterly unpretentious, and sometimes I am so in the mood for that."

Cool factor No. 1: The place isn't "retro" – it's simply stayed the same over the many decades.

Cool factor No. 2: A basket of Scali bread (with sesame seeds) is put on the table before your dinner.