Dorsia

Dorsia looks the part — a stylish Brady Street hang with the kind of chic interior that makes you want to order something interesting. Then the wine list arrives and it's basically the rack at your local Woodman's, priced like you're at a hotel bar. The vibe says 'hidden gem'; the wine list says 'we didn't really think about this.'

The list leans California commercial with a Kim Crawford cameo for Marlborough representation — that's about as adventurous as it gets. For an Italian-American restaurant on Brady Street, the absence of any verifiable Italian producers is a missed layup. No Vermentino, no Nero d'Avola, no Barbera — nothing that would actually complement the lasagna flights or truffle cacio e pepe they're clearly proud of. This is a wine list assembled by someone who stocked it once and hasn't revisited it since.

The by-the-glass program runs the full gamut of brands you already know from every chain restaurant you've ever been to: Meiomi, Josh Cellars, Kim Crawford, La Marca. Glass pours range from $10 to $12, which sounds reasonable until you realize retail on most of these bottles is $11–$18 and you're getting a 5-ounce pour. No evidence of any rotation or seasonal additions — what you see is what you get, indefinitely.