The glass front wall of Piccola Venezia ("little Venice") shows off the exposed-brick dining room, decorated with prints and photos and filled with happy locals and out-of-towners. Portions are large, and the homey food tends to be heavy on red sauce, although more sophisticated dishes are available. The delicious sautéed mushroom appetizer is solidly in the latter category; a more traditional starter is tasty pasta e fagioli (bean-and-pasta soup). Then dig into spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parmigiana, eggplant rolatini, or pasta puttanesca. This is a good place to try traditional Italian-American favorites such as polenta (home-style, not the yuppie croutons available at so many other places), baccala (reconstituted salt cod), or the house specialty, tripe.