You know you’ve found great cavatelli, small shell-shaped pasta designed to hold sauce in its folds, when it takes several bites before you realize that the guy at the table behind you has planted an elbow in your back, and then you have just one more forkful before scooting your chair out of the way.
Aria Trattoria in the North End is in the second-floor spot where Marco once was located. It’s a small space, narrow and not particularly long, with three windows over the street and a busy open kitchen in back. Chef Clayton Goncalves, who was at Marco for years and stayed when Massimo Tiberi opened this restaurant in January, offers plenty of dishes as good as the chewy cavatelli. Full story for BostonGlobe.com subscribers.
Anne V. Nelson can be reached at anelson@globe.com.
