Powered in part by an oven built by Italian master craftsmen with a legacy dating back to 19th-century Naples, this second location of a local favorite for pizza and more — including meatball plates with choices of different kinds of hearty orbs and sauces to match — brings a bit of the Old Country to the large mixed-use development known as Crocker Park.

Website: 3palmspizzeria.com

Address: 281 Main St., Cleveland, Ohio

Phone number: 440-455-1443

Number of seats: 98

Entrée price range: $10-$18

Popular dishes: Meatball plate with 6-ounce meatball (traditional, turkey and chicken, grass-fed lamb, or vegetable) with sauce (San Marzano tomato marinara, Sunday gravy, wild mushroom gravy, or pistachio pesto); Rapini pizza with San Marzano tomato, slivered garlic, house made pork sausage, broccoli raab, fresh mozzarella cheese, basil and extra-virgin olive oil; Beans & Greens with cannellini beans, braised escarole, prosciutto and Parmesan.

What others say: “When you see ‘pizza’ in a restaurant's name, you know what to expect. But with 3 Palms Pizzeria, entrees and specials are not to be missed.” — Marc Bona, Cleveland.com

Pizza

Meatball

In Pittsburgh, chef Becca Hegarty (who made her name in the kitchens of The Cafe Carnegie, Dinette, Bread & Salt Bakery, and Woodbury Kitchen) took a turn toward the small and hand-forged at this charming eatery with a simple mantra: “We farm vegetables we love. We serve vegetables we love.”

Website: tillthebitterends.com

Address: 4613 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Phone number: 412-450-0229

Number of seats: 15

Entrée price range: $5-$9

Popular dishes: Breakfast sandwich with sunny egg, pork sausage, mesclun mix and aged cheddar; veggie hoagie with black bean purée and dressed vegetables; peach and goat cheese toast.

What others say: “If talk of community and produce collectives sounds precious to you, let that thought fly. If anything, Bitter Ends Luncheonette is a throwback to old-school lunch counters that offer scratch-made food and for too long have been a missing component of most neighborhoods.” — Hal B. Klein, Pittsburgh Magazine

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Veggie hoagie

This restaurant in San Francisco by enigmatic chef/owners Cortney Burns and Nick Balla identifies as “a fast-casual, walk-in restaurant serving classic Central-European peasant food made with noble ingredients, an eating place experiment.”

Website: duna.kitchen

Address: 983 Valencia St., San Francisco

Phone number: 415-484-1206

Number of seats: 45

Entrée price range: $15-$21

Popular dishes: Budafok spoon salad with paprika salami, tomme cheese, Brussels sprouts and mushrooms; stuffed cabbage with pork belly, whipped potatoes and sour cream; smoked potato flatbread with spreads (such as liptauer paprika cheese dip, pumpkin seed dip, and creamed herring).

What others say: “If there’s a mark against Burns and Balla, it’s never been about their cooking. These two can cook circles around you and me and just about everyone in the Bay Area. Their aggressive, kick-you-in-the-teeth flavors and mastery of the fermented arts made Bar Tartine, for a time, one of the most exciting places to eat in the country.” — Chris Ying, San Francisco Chronicle

Chicken Paprikas & Spatzle

Summer chop salad

Low Country flavors from deep down in the South made their way to Asbury Park, N.J., where this eatery brings hearty regional goodness to different climes.

Website: modineasbury.com

Address: 601 Mattison Ave., Asbury Park, N.J.

Phone number: 732-893-5300

Number of seats: 130 inside, 20 at the bar

Entrée price range: $20-$36

Popular dishes: House made andouille sausage with mashed potatoes, gravy and frizzled onions; smoked fried chicken with buttermilk brine, cold smoke, hot honey drizzle, biscuit and choice of side; house-made vegan fried “chicken” with Kentucky barbecue sauce, biscuit and choice of side.

What others say: “Now for something completely different. Modine, in Asbury Park, serves food you didn’t even know you were craving until you eat it. The theme is Low Country Cuisine; local fare from South Carolina and the Georgia coast, which is similar to New Orleans/Cajun but with its own special twist. Sweet and spicy, crispy fried textures, and lots of seafood make up the unique menu offerings.” — Bob Sacks, The Two River Times

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Vegan chicken

This Dallas-area concept evokes the old and little-known lineage of Mexican diners that abounded in and around Los Angeles in the middle of the 20th century.

Website: elfamosodiner.com

Address: 5228 N. O'Connor Blvd, Suite 126, Irving, Texas

Phone number: 469-221-9500

Number of seats: 40 inside, 60 outside

Entrée price range: $9-$17

Popular dishes: Chicken enchiladas with suizas cheese sauce; Tex-Mexicali Tacos: choice of poblano and cheese, creamy chipotle chicken, Mexican meatball, calabacitas (squash), spicy brisket, barbacoa, fried chicken suiza, mahi mahi, guajillo shrimp or pulled pork; Brisket Burrito with meat, beans, rice, tomato, Jack cheese and queso.

What others say: “The cheerful space features brightly colored tile accents, wood-beamed ceiling and the names of menu items painted on the walls.” — Zagat

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El Monstro burrito

After closing his Phoenix beacon Cave Creek and stepping out of more casual restaurants in his portfolio, fabled Arizona chef Kevin Binkley went for it in the form of this fine-dining destination with a 20-some-course tasting menu and prices that attend such arrangements.

Website: binkleysrestaurant.com

Address: 2320 E Osborn Rd., Phoenix

Phone number: 602-388-4874

Number of seats: 24

Entrée price range: $165 tasting menu

Popular dishes: “Pearogi” dumplings with pear butter, white wine poached pear and chorizo; date soup with verjus and lemon olive oil; scallop panna cotta with pickled mushrooms and chervil.

What others say: “Never have I eaten in a fine-dining restaurant as warm, welcoming and approachable as this. And, I suspect, neither have you.” — Dominic Armato, AZ Central

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Venison

In Salt Lake City, this colorfully and progressively arty eatery runs the gamut on worldly flavors and boasts a lively, proudly bricolage-minded decor “built from the ground up with our own hands and hearts.”

Website: theeklektik.com

Address: 60 East 800 South, Salt Lake City, Utah

Phone number: 385-528-3675

Number of seats: 117

Entrée price range: $14-$19

Popular dishes: Patatas Bravas Al & Son: potato wedges, roasted tomato, red bell pepper, onions, garlic and house aïoli; Barcelona Shrimp Cazuela: shrimp, garlic, guajillo peppers, extra virgin olive oil and baguette; Black Beer Bondiolas: pork loin, button mushrooms, white & red onion, scallions, black beer, heavy cream, rice and fried julienne onions

What others say: “There is nothing like The Eklektik in Salt Lake City. Part restaurant, part art space, part store and — the owners hope — part event venue, this little restaurant on 800 South is manifestly a labor of love. Decor is eccentric: The fire extinguisher serves as a 3-D accessory to a painted scuba diver. A bouquet of mannequin legs sprouts from a wall. Chairs are brightly painted and mismatched and it’s hard to know what to expect.” — Mary Brown Malouf, Salt Lake Magazine

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Shrimp

This Cincinnati-area eatery takes a mindful, refined approach to the kind coziness and comfort inherent in Southern cuisine, with a sense of progressiveness to give the heartiness a boon in the present day.

Website: commonwealthbistro.com

Address: 621 Main St., Covington, Ky.

Phone number: 859-916-6719

Number of seats: 80 + 50 patio

Entrée price range: $20-$28

Popular dishes: Kentucky fried rabbit with buttermilk biscuit, creamed collard greens, and bizbaz sauce; 72-hour braised short ribs with beef-fat roasted squash, farro risotto, braised greens and marchand de vin; herbed potato gnocchi with Capriole Farms fondue, spicebush matignon and shaved chestnut.

What others say: “Advertising itself as “Historically Inspired, Locally Sourced,” it combines local seasonal cooking with nods to Southern and Appalachian cuisine to create an engaging menu. Chef Chris Burns went through old cookbooks when planning his dishes, but for inspiration rather than emulation — the Appalachian elements are dabs rather than defining characteristics.” — Akshay Ahuja, Cincinnati Magazine

Table top

Fried chicken