Trattoria Corso, Berkeley
From the rich soil of the Gourmet Ghetto springs a restaurant with deeply local roots. Rivoli co-owners Roscoe Skipper and Wendy Brucker stand behind this Florentine-style trattoria, which centers on salumi, crostini, pastas, and braises. Given its simplicity and sharp focus, the menu yields surprisingly mixed results, ranging from velvet-textured tripe with cannellini beans to a misfired pizza margherita, blistered to the point of burning. While the delicacy of the fritto misto and the perfection of the grilled bronzino, draped in roasted eggplant and tomatoes, showcase subtle touches in the kitchen, the scarceness of shellfish in the fettuccini is just one disappointment in a dish light on shrimp but overdosed with salt. The service is smart, and the desserts, like flourless chocolate cake, are authentically unadorned. 1788 Shattuck Ave. (at Delaware St.), 510-704-8004 $$ W ★★ By Josh Sens

Rosso Pizzeria and Wine Bar, Santa Rosa
The flat-screen behind the bar is for European soccer; the flatbread on the table is for anchovy spread. The combination works at this appealing pizzeria, which brings life and local produce to a low-slung shopping mall. Tra Vigne veteran John Franchetti fires the flames at Rosso with a sense of fun. For every pie intended to please the purists—a crisp-edged fontina with funghi—the chef puts out something playful, like the Goomba, an unapologetic pizza with spaghetti and meatballs slathered over tangy saffron-tomato sauce. Assorted salads, like a basil-laced caprese, show respect for the seasons. But the finest starter is the pork-and-veal meatballs, served as antipasti bobbing in a bowl of zesty marinara sauce. Rosso’s casual setting includes comfortable booths and a red-brick oven, a color that matches the warmth of the service, and the ambitious wine list (“Don’t ask,” reads the price on a cultish Harlan blend) more than meets the demands of such easygoing food. 53 Montgomery Dr. (at Brookwood Ave.), 707-544-3221 $$ W ★★ By Josh Sens

The Sentinel, SoMa
Sometimes a hole in the wall proves to be a portal into a better world—one where business types on their lunch break can enjoy the kind of cooking they’d hope for only at a sit-down meal. The Sentinel is just a takeout nook, but chef Dennis Leary shows the same furrowed-brow focus that he displays at his tiny Tendernob restaurant, Canteen, assembling hearty sandwiches and homemade soups that are both filling and refined. A zesty chicken-salad sandwich, studded with raisins and pine nuts and spiked with chipotle mayonnaise and zaatar, appears on the short list of options, along with simple winners like corned-beef brisket or smoked salmon with cucumbers and horseradish cream cheese. Lush coffee cakes, scones, and sour-cherry muffins await morning commuters, but lunchtime at the Sentinel is the real reminder that midday fuel can also be great food. 37 New Montgomery St. (at Stevenson St.), 415-284-9960, breakfast and lunch only $ ★★★ By Josh Sens


D= Dinner only
R= Reservations recommended
V= Valet
W= Wheelchair accessible