Reviewed: Retooled Seafood Restaurants; Some New Momos

In the pages of the Boston Globe this week, Devra First revisits two classic seafood spots that have recently retooled.

D'Amelio's Off the Boat, a seafood and Italian restaurant, relocated to Revere this spring after almost a decade in East Boston. The new establishment, with updated decor and a welcoming atmosphere, "is the kind of place you come after graduation," First's friend commented. The seafood meatballs are "savory and marine," coated in a marinara sauce that is "pure North End." "Big, tender" shrimp are sauteed with spinach and mushrooms in the "garlicky and satisfying" shrimp Amalfi. Portions are huge, too.

The Barking Crab, a 21-year-old Boston restaurant, has seemed more like a "beer garden with seafood." But recently, it has been improving its menu and amenities and is "just better enough to make it worth a visit." Service is great, First reports, and it has an ideal location on the Fort Point Channel.

Skip the crab cakes, which have too much filler, and opt for the Old Bay-seasoned peel-and-eat shrimp instead. "They are perfectly cooked, crisp-tender, and slices of celery offer a pleasant counterpoint." The $26 lobster roll with drawn butter, on the other hand, is not worth it. Instead, indulge in the seafood casserole, lobster, scallops, fish, and shrimp in rich, sherry-scented cream sauce.

In an older, short review, First found "simple, elegant small plates" at Shepard. Gnocchi, accompanied by morels and peas, is "tender, almost stretchy." The rhubarb galette, a dessert, is "utterly unsweet and laced with thyme, served with buttermilk ice cream."

For the Globe's Cheap Eats column, Catherine Smart tried Somerville's newest Nepalese dumpling house, Momo n' Curry. Buffalo momo are flavorful inside chewy wheat wrappers, and come with a sweet chutney and fiery sauce for dipping. Goat curry is "delicious, but not for dainty eaters," with eating off the bones recommended. It is "deeply savory with a touch of sweetness from tomatoes in the sauce. Another "thoughtfully prepared" dish is stir-fried noodles with carrot, onion, cabbage, black pepper, and "a thick slick of oil."

Improper Bostonian writer Elizabeth Bomze stopped into Sunny Boy to try some of the new Washington Square spot's freshly-baked bread. Thick-cut, whole wheat sandwich bread "stands up" to hold house-roasted turkey, bacon, and an avocado spread "and reminds you how good fresh-baked sandwich bread can be." It's soft and nutty, she writes.