Best of Boston

Nothing against classic Italian comfort food, but we could use a break from the mounds of red-sauce-bathed macaroni we stress-gorged in the early days of the pandemic. Now? We’re more in the mood to share Venetian-style small plates in the dining room and on the patio at SRV, Michael Lombardi’s bright spotlight on decidedly contemporary cicchetti, such as duck-liver mousse with passion fruit, and house-extruded pastas, including al dente hats of tortelli in rabbit sauce. We missed feasting like this: in coursed waves, in rapt fascination of great chef skill, and, most important, together.