Homey little neighborhood restaurant, you can smell the fried food wafting out as you approach from outside. Guaranteed to make you step in on a cold day. Low lighting with a bar, tables, and booths create an atmosphere in which you are ready for the comfort food on the menu. Fresh Ravioli ($8.95), soups by the crock (Clam Chowder on Fridays) for less than $3, Baked Ham and Cheese with Fries for $6, or Lamb Tips cooked in an open hearth ($9). The thing that makes this place so typically East Boston is the Keno and horse racing on TV's mounted in the corners. Keno runs during limited hours, but the Baked Lobster Pie is available anytime.

There are some cool ethnic places in the immediate vicinity, and this strikes me as a very nice family owned, home-grown kind of place. Seriously authentic dishes, like Pancita (tripe and cow's feet soup) for $7 and Tacos with the option of beef tongue or goat meat fillings ($1.50 each) are more than your typical south of the border fare. Nourish yourself with the Mole Poblano ($8.50), fill your hungry belly with Bistec Encebollado, or share the double Chabela (shrimp/octopus cocktail) for $18 with a friend. Locals come to get their huevos rancheros fix.

This place is on the main Day Square drag, with tables designed in the Modern Fast Food style. you have a Chinese Restaurant! Most people who come here prefer the appetizers,Fried Rice,Beef or Chicken With Brocolli, Lo Mein,and the eccentric guy I ran into on the street is a big fan of their Chicken Wings ($7.25 large) and says that this is his favorite Chinese food in the area. All of the basics as well as some lobster dishes.Twin Lobster with ginger and scallions ($26.95). Sit down and relax, the employees are very friendly. Trans fat free and open every day until 3am.

When you approach this from the street, it looks like a big fast food joint, but step inside and take a look around. Walk past the counter that's on your left and through a door, is an additional seating area that's just perfect, nothing like a fast food joint at all. Of course, if you want to grab and go that's all right. However, I wouldn't mind running some tunes on the jukebox and sitting for a comfortable and informal meal. This used to be the Clam Box (and Uncle Pete's before that), now this Salvadorean place is the local mainstay with pretty good pork and cheese pupusa (revueltas) with a nice crisp curtido and a basic thin tomatoey sauce. Tacos, plates, combos, breakfast and the immortal flan. Beer available, as well as delivery.

This restaurant is no bigger than your fist. They have 4 tables, which are typically covered in papergoods and waiting bags of hot food, so isn't really a sit-down kind of place. Most people coming through here are just stopping in to get their take out. They offer a couple of my favorites - Yu Shiang Beef ($9.25 large) and also Mongolian Beef ($9.50). You can choose food from a number of styles - Szechuan, Kung Bao, and surprisingly they even serve Pad Thai ($7.25).

Step out of the busy city streets, and step into this elegantly charming spot. This is a family owned restaurant. The mother makes everything from scratch, and these are her own recipes that she uses in her own kitchen at home. Her son owns the restaurant, and her daughter is the waitress. Tasteful artwork by local artist Janett Lazarus lines the walls, the decor is clean and simple, and this would be one of the few places in Day Square that I would take someone on a special date. They have traditional fare, such as Tipico Savadoreno, which is scrambled eggs with fried beans, sour cream, fried plantains and avocado for $5.99, Tacos for $1.75 each, Carne Asada ($9.50) and Salmon ($11). Homecooked meals in a classy setting and at a very good price. Wine menu available.

Nice owners, one of the only Mexican owned and operated taquerias in Eastie. Some of the dishes are only served on weekends, like the Birra (stewed beef marinated in a special red sauce fo $9) or the Pozole (soup with hominy and tender pork). Burritos go for around $6, Tacos for $1.75 each, Enchiladas ($9) and yummy Huevos for $7.

Cute little family-owned dive serving dishes such as: cheviches, sopas, tallarines verdes, cau-cau, lomo saltado and Mondonguito a la Italiana. Weekday lunch specials are: soup, entree and a drink for just $7.14. Open-flame charcoal rotisserie chicken seasoned with Peruvian ingredients. The sauce is amazing.

Grab some award-winning pizza from this quaint little pizza shop. There isn't much seating except for some stools by window counters, but the friendly guys make you feel as though you're just hanging out in their kitchen. Treat your friends to the $14 large Shrimp Scampi pizza (always one of my favorites) or if you're flying solo, the Kabob Sub ($6). Delivering to all of the major hotels in the Logan International Airport area as well as the hungry locals.

Tiny little spot with a few tables. The people here sit around as though they've known each other forever, eating and chatting and throwing their arms across the back of their chairs the way they do at home. Quiet and cozy.