Bites

Good | Fair | (No stars) Poor

LOCKE-OBER 3 Winter Place, Boston. 617-542-1340. Earlier this year, management closed the historic restaurant’s doors, renovated, and brought in a new chef de cuisine. Locke-Ober reopened in April. The menu has been lightened in spots, entrees updated. But the classics remain - when history gives you JFK, you don’t do away with his lobster stew. Perhaps the biggest change is sartorial. The dress code is dead, here and everywhere. Many people still turn up in suits and dresses, but when the room is full of plainclothes diners, it can feel more like a tourist attraction than a relevant restaurant. The food ranges from mediocre to excellent, but how it tastes is less important than the fact that it is at all. Locke-Ober is a dying breed, the place people go to be attended by their favorite waiter, to order the dishes they’ve always ordered. Each forkful is a tradition. (6/22/11)

ARAGOSTA BAR + BISTRO Fairmont Battery Wharf, 3 Battery Wharf, Boston. 617-994-9001. Aragosta takes over the space that was previously Sensing, with executive chef David Daniels at the helm. He’s back on the mainland after a stint at Topper’s in Nantucket, where his cooking shone. Here, his seafood-heavy Italian menu beguiles with meatballs and polenta, seared tuna, pork chops with peppers, and plenty of the lobster dishes you’d expect. (“Aragosta’’ means “lobster’’ in Italian.) But thus far, the cooking is not up to the level he achieved elsewhere. A patio overlooking the water is an urban idyll, but that’s not enough. There’s plenty of Italian fare in the North End. More flavor is needed here. (6/15/11)

REMICK’S 1657 Hancock St., Quincy. 617-481-1010. Quincy lacks the reputation as a dining destination that is enjoyed by northern counterparts Cambridge and Somerville. This could easily change, were a few high-profile restaurateurs to open up shop. Marc Orfaly raises that possibility with Remick’s, serving food that embraces the South, New Orleans, Asia, France, Italy, the Mediterranean, and the good old American bar, all at once. Remick’s falls on the upscale side of casual, or vice versa, friendly and fun. If you averaged together a trendy Back Bay hot spot and Cheers, you might wind up here. (6/8/11)

LOCAL 149 149 P St., South Boston. 617-269-0900. The menu declares this a “neighborhood joint.’’ There’s something here for everyone, from salmon steak with sprouted lentil salad to burgers and hot dogs. Of course, a hot dog costs $8, but that’s just fine. South Boston is comfortably home to people of all collars - blue, white, ironic vintage T. When everyone is being served, that’s a successful neighborhood. Local 149’s upscale comfort food is a refreshing alternative to pervasive pub fare, and taps dispense local and Belgian beer rather than Bud. The place serves the neighborhood well. The day a hot dog at Sullivan’s costs $8, we have a problem. (5/25/11)

OM 92 Winthrop St., Cambridge. 617-576-2800. When South End restaurant Ginger Park closed, chef Patricia Yeo said she planned to open her own place, serving the tasty, Asian-inspired small plates for which she is known. Instead, she wound up at Om, where thus far she is not at the top of her game. The food is often lackluster. Flavors aren’t as bright, fresh, or spicy as they were at Ginger Park. Fortunately, Om may be more of a way station for the chef than a focus. Its owners are opening a new restaurant, Moksa, in Central Square. It’s slated to debut in September. Yeo will head that kitchen, as well. She is a real talent, at least some of the time. Here’s hoping Moksa finds her back at the top of her game. (5/18/11)