It’d be remiss not to include at least one North End stalwart on this list. If you’re looking for an old-school Italian experience, consider this: Chef/owner Massimo Tiberi’s recipe goes back generations. His polpette della Nonna is a 50-50 veal-and-beef blend. Held together by bread crumbs, eggs, milk, salt, pepper, parsley, and garlic, they are then baked—not fried—for an hour, and then slow-simmered “with love” as Tiberi says, in sauce made with his own mother’s recipe. (253 Hanover St., Boston)