At The Daily Catch, calamari comes in meatball form. At Lehrhaus, beets take the place of the meat in a Reuben. Boston and Somerville have plenty of dishes worth ordering when your usual choice has started to feel a little too usual, and you do not need a gold-covered pizza to find them.
These six picks start with something recognizable and change a part of it: the filling, the toppings or the way it reaches the plate. They are specific menu items at actual restaurants. Check the current menu before making a trip for one dish, since kitchens change preparations and sometimes retire a favorite.
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The Daily Catch North End
323 Hanover Street, North End
The Daily Catch in the North End makes calamari meatballs with ground squid and herbed breadcrumbs, served with red sauce. They sit alongside fried, stuffed and marinated calamari on the Hanover Street menu, so this is a kitchen that gives squid more than one job. Order the meatballs as a starter, then consider the black pasta with ground calamari, garlic and olive oil if you want to stay with the theme. This location is cash-only and walk-in-only.
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Lehrhaus
425 Washington Street, Somerville
Lehrhaus in Somerville puts beet “pastrami” in its Reuben, with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing on house rye. It keeps the deli-sandwich structure while changing what is stacked in the middle. The current food menu also includes mac and cheese kugel and shredded mushroom tacos. The Reuben comes with fries, so treat it as lunch or dinner rather than something to order while waiting for your real meal.
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Boston Burger Company – Boylston St.
1100 Boylston Street, Fenway
Boston Burger Company’s Boylston Street menu lists the 420 Burger with mozzarella sticks, fried mac and cheese, onion rings, fries, bacon, American cheese and golden barbecue sauce. That is the topping list, before you get to the burger itself. It is a choice for someone who was already torn between several appetizers. You can read the full combination on the restaurant’s ordering menu before making any additional commitments to fried food.
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The Salty Pig
130 Dartmouth Street, South End
The Salty Pig’s namesake pizza uses mustard crema, arugula, beer caramel and what the menu calls “Salty Pig Parts.” The sweet beer caramel and mustard make this a different order from a standard tomato-and-mozzarella pie. Ask which meats are on it that day rather than treating the playful name as a precise description. The Dartmouth Street restaurant also lets you build a meat-and-cheese board, which gives a group something to share while choosing pizza or pasta.
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Prezza
24 Fleet Street, North End
Prezza’s ravioli di uovo is a single ravioli filled with ricotta and egg yolk, finished with butter and sage. It is listed among the hot appetizers, so think of it as the start of dinner rather than a full bowl of pasta. Cut into it at the table and the yolk becomes part of the sauce. The Fleet Street restaurant’s menu continues with handmade pastas and wood-grilled meat and fish if you want a larger second course.
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Sarma
249 Pearl Street, Somerville
Sarma’s Black Sea cornbread brings jalapeño, feta, honey and sesame to a familiar bread. The Somerville restaurant serves a wide range of small plates meant to be shared, so it can join vegetables, seafood or meat rather than dictate the rest of dinner. It is one option on a menu that also includes combinations such as lentil nachos with feta queso. Check the current menu before arriving with your entire order already decided.
Make a meal of it
Choose one restaurant and order around the dish that brought you there. Several of these work as a shared first course, while the burger and sandwich are meals in their own right. Ask the server about portions before ordering a tableful of food based on names alone.
For a more traditional Boston food plan, our guide to local classics is another starting point. Tell the restaurant about allergies before ordering: a short menu description is not a complete ingredient list, and an unexpected ingredient is only fun when it is one you can eat.
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