Eastie eats

Today's Globe mentions the clams casino oreganata at Carmen's Kitchen in the Orient Heights section of East Boston and goes on to talk about the fresh ingredients that the restaurant uses in all of its dishes.

I haven't been to Carmen's (though I have heard good things about it), but I've been to Zefferano, which is also "up the Heights" (as we say in Eastie) for a function, and the food was excellent. This snippet review in the Boston Phoenix says that you can't discover great little Italian restaurants that no one knows about in the North End any more, but you can in East Boston.

Then there's Dough, near Maverick Square. which I also haven't visited, but I did sample a bit of their stuff at Saturday's Chelsea Creek fete. I was quite disappointed in the slice of pizza that I had, but let's chalk that up to it being sold streetside for a buck. The little chicken and cheese wraps (yeah, I got two) were good, and the Phoenix raves about Dough's sandwiches. I will certainly test that claim soon.

Finally, my friends at Meridian 155 -- a few blocks from the Maverick T stop -- added panini and soup not too long ago, in addition to the bagels, muffins, beverage options and friendly atmosphere of the place. Check it out.