Best place to relive childhood New England dinners

A restaurant with the slogan "Food is love" might bring to mind the old warning about avoiding eating at a place called Mom's or playing poker with a guy named Doc. In the case of Jasper White's Summer Shack, though, such suspicions are unwarranted. If you grew up in New England with Yankee cuisine, chances are you'll experience a Proustian moment digging into such exquisitely prepared traditional fare as brown bread, baked beans, baked scrod, cod cakes, fish and chips, Yankee pot roast, and lobster rolls. The latter are especially succulent: just the right amount of mayo, and the perfect balance of crisp, toasted bun and cool, succulent lobster. Set in the old Cheri building near the Prudential Center (the original location still stands at Fresh Pond, in Cambridge), Summer Shack offers an ambience that is cavernous but homey: it's an unvarnished, lively, family-style setting reminiscent of a clam shack visited during a Cape Cod vacation circa 1962. And don't forget the desserts: the homemade pies are great, but the Indian pudding will reduce you to tears.

Jasper White's Summer Shack, 50 Dalton Street, Boston, (617) 867-9955; 149 Alewife Parkway, Cambridge, (617) 520-9500; www.summershackrestaurant.com.