Where to eat

THE BLUE OX **½1/2 The Blue Ox offers all the right enticements to turn Lynn locals into regulars: friendly staff, good drinks, reasonable prices. Chef Matt O’Neil, formerly of Copia, Prezza, and No. 9 Park, is in the kitchen. His is fare you can ease into: calamari and clam chowder, salads, pan-roasted salmon, burgers. The most conservative diner would order these stolid-sounding dishes; the more adventurous diner would be happily surprised at how not-stolid they actually are. The Blue Ox practically demands to be called “neighborhood gem” – it’s the Franklin Cafe, Highland Kitchen, or Ashmont Grill of its neck of the woods. 191 Oxford Street, Lynn, 781-780-5722, http://www.theblueoxlynn.com

THE HYDE **½1/2 By day, it’s a mild-mannered diner, serving eggs and coffee and BLTs. But The Hyde has a secret double life. At night, this space of humble little tables and chrome-and-vinyl stools fills with the smells of crab cakes, pan-roasted salmon with sushi rice, and thick-cut organic pork chops. In the lexicon of diner slang, there are no terms for these dishes. Chef Brian Roskow’s food is honest and reasonably priced. 5 Fairmount Avenue, Hyde Park, 617-364-9814, htp://www.thehyde02136.com

HOUSE OF BLUES ** When the main draw is music, how good can the food be? At the House of Blues restaurant on Lansdowne Street, the answer is: better than required for a place many will visit for convenience’s sake. The menu merges comfort food with New England and Louisiana fare. Creole and Cajun dishes don’t offer the to-die-for deliciousness of the versions you’ll find in situ, and that probably goes without saying. But the knockoffs evoke the originals pleasantly enough. There is something of the theme park to House of Blues, which turns music, food, and art into a corporate formula. If there’s a slight aftertaste of the ersatz, well, it’s situated alongside Fenway, a bit of a theme park itself. 15 Lansdowne Street, Boston, 888-693-2583, http://www.houseofblues.com/boston