Best greasy spoon

The name's implications are obvious: stay out of the poorhouse, eat at the Pour House. This Boylston Street bar and grill boasts an extensive menu priced at under $10 -- often well under (see Best Brunch, Burger). In a noisy, lively space completely covered with hand-painted images of beer bottles, you can chow down on chowder and chili, wraps and clubs, tips and strips (steak and clam, that is), and more -- and still have enough left over for another round of suds.

"Greasy spoon" is usually synonymous with "hole-in-the-wall," not "historic landmark." Somerville's Rosebud Diner is an exception. The railway-car roadside, still pretty in pink neon and chrome, has been in business since the '40s. It would be tempting to make cracks about the Fry-o-later being on its first quart of oil if the grub -- from scrambled eggs and onion rings to mashed potatoes and pie -- weren't so temptingly plain, simple, and unhampered by retro irony. So come for the bygone ambiance, and then come back for the real-deal comfort food.

Pour House Bar & Grill, 909 Boylston Street, Boston, (617) 236-1767. Rosebud Diner, 381 Summer Street, Somerville, (617) 666-6015.