Baked little ears

The Brookline Village restaurant Pomodoro is a cash-only affair, with two types each of red and white wine, a limited list of cocktails, and a menu that changes only twice a year. But the absence of broad choice suits the customers who visit multiple times each week, says chef Frank van Overbeeke. There's a challenge to creating menus that straddle seasons, he adds. But by keeping the Italian-ish menu full of appealing and consistent comfort food, the restaurant has a repertoire of dishes sought out by regulars.

For the most recent change, about six weeks ago, the kitchen added baked little ears ($20) -- orecchiette with peas and sausage in a mornay sauce. Baked and topped with breadcrumbs, the dish was conceived as an Italian baked macaroni and cheese, says the chef. In each bite, the orecchiette catches creamy sauce and bits of sausage and peas in their saucer-shaped cups. It's good and hearty, and if you have the cash on you, you too might return for dinner at Pomodoro more than once this week. Pomodoro, 24 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-566-4455. -- LEIGH BELANGER