Born & Raised

The restaurant is named for the chef. Vittorio Colacitti's family has lived in the Hamilton area since the late 1800s, and ancestor photos taken on early-1900s Hamilton streets line the dining-room walls — a Born & Raised that means what it says before a menu arrives. The address sits on James Street North, in the stretch of corridor that carries Art Crawl and the working evening crowd. Doors open at five; the kitchen runs until two in the morning, six nights a week. The opening menu runs through raw bar and small plates, the middle through wood-fired pizza and handmade pasta, and the late hours through mains and a separate late-night register.

The ordering arc is unusually clean for a kitchen with this much range. Fresh East Coast Oysters or a Burrata Di Puglia — heirloom tomato, pesto, aged balsamic, grilled bread — open the table without committing it. The wood-fired pies pull the meal into Italian comfort: Monte Pollino with fior di latte, roasted pork, pineapple and pickled habanero on a wood-fired crust; Calabrese with spicy soppressata, Sicilian black olive and chili oil; the simpler Margherita for a table that wants the dough to do the talking. From there the pasta backbone shows: Short Rib Tagliatelle in a sugo di arrosto, Gnocchi with Mushrooms finished with white truffle and Grana Padano, Rigatoni with Meatballs in San Marzano sauce, Gnocchi Cacio e Pepe with pecorino and pink peppercorn. Nonna's Meatballs — five hand-made, garlic bread alongside — carry the family thread in the most direct form the menu has.