Dining

From tiny eateries tucked in rosy brick townhouses, to upscale restaurants in downtown skyscrapers, the choices for dining in Boston are extraordinarily diverse. Boston restaurants have a traditional flair for robust, yet unpretentious cuisine, and the region boasts some of the best restaurants in the nation.

From Italian to Chinese to New England traditions like salt cod, baked beans and fruit crumbles, you'll find delectable options in every neighborhood.

If you're in the mood for Italian, look no further than the North End, Boston's Little Italy.

If you have a yen for Asian cuisine, Chinatown has it all: restaurants and markets selling fresh fish, hard-to-find Asian vegetables and live poultry.

Finding a great meal in the Back Bay is easy, especially along Newbury and Boylston streets. Jamaica Plain and the South End also offer up an array of choices.

Seafood is central to the Boston dining experience. Out past the bay, the North Atlantic teems with cod and haddock, while the region's delectable lobsters are always a culinary centerpiece.

Don't miss the annual Chowderfest (or "chowda-fest", as the locals call it). For more than two decades, thousands of fish enthusiasts crowd City Hall Plaza. There, a dozen of the city's great restaurants tote in their steaming claim chowder in the hopes of taking home the title of Boston's Best.

Round of your day with a trek to "the bar where everybody knows your name", the Bull & Finch Pub, inspiration for the TV series "Cheers."