The South End’s population may have shifted from down-and-out diverse to more straight-up yup over the decades, but Stella still pulls from every last band of the neighborhood’s rainbow coalition of humanity. They come for the high-octane cocktails. They come to be surprised by who they meet. But most of all, they come for the food ? and because they believe that a gorgeous plate of pasta is greater than their differences.

Stella | 1525 Washington St., Boston, MA | 617-247-7747 | http://bostonstella.com