A breakfast spot, pizza place, and red sauce restaurant all rolled into one, The Little Oven is a neighborhood institution. Try the Pavarotti sandwich, heaped with ground beef and Italian sausage patties, pepperoni, gooey mozzarella, and marinara.

This cozy Italian spot has been an Eastside mainstay since 1947, when Francesco Yarusso and his sons took over the business. The fist-sized meatballs always come with plenty of sauce and a hearty layer of mozzarella.

From the old-school, thin-crust pizza to the meatballs swimming in a rich marinara sauce, Mama’s keeps it simple, just as it has since 1964. Don’t skip an order of the flavor-dense ravioli, and stick around for the free miniature soft-serve cone at the end of the meal.

DeGidio’s, a mainstay of St. Paul’s West Seventh neighborhood, is the legacy of Joe “Kid Bullets” DeGidio, a prolific bootlegger of the 1920s and ‘30s. DeGidio’s was once a favorite haunt of notable gangsters of the era. These days, the restaurant is a go-to for classic Italian fare like tortellini bolognese made with Italian sausage and a plum tomato sauce. It’s still owned and run by Kid Bullets’ grandchildren.

This little restaurant is a relative newcomer compared to others on this map, but the menu of Italian comfort foods is cooked and served straight from the heart. Try the lasagna, or as it’s billed on the menu: layers of love.

A sweet little neighborhood spot with deep Italian family roots, Caffe Biaggio opened in 2002. Look for the painting of co-owner John D’Agostino’s mother, Mama D by Tony Bennett. Order the bolognese over parpadelle or soft polenta.

The Jakeeno family has been in the sauce business since 1975 — its tangy tomato gravy is so good that the restaurant sells it by the jar. Jakeeno’s other trademark is the layer of gooey broiled cheese that blankets most of the dishes: the thin-crust pizza, the hearty lasagna, even the fluffy, golden slices of bread.

This restaurant and deli — the first of the Broder family’s slate of Italian restaurants, which now includes Broders’ Pasta Bar and Terzo — first opened in 1982. Grab a loaf of house-baked focaccia and an Italian meatball sub to go, or come for a sit-down meal of fettuccine bolognese.