A musician friend told us about In a Pig’s Eye, a funky, affordable pub on the Salem waterfront. It’s one pub where instead of nachos and chili you can order marinated lamb sirloin or scallops in a peppercorn cream sauce on pasta. These and most other Pig’s Eye Favorites, which come with salad and two side dishes, cost just $13. We picked the house specialty: grilled shrimp in a pistachio-pesto cream sauce over spinach fettuccine with sugar snap peas. It was nicely prepared and flavorful.  — Coco McCabe and Doug Stewart

IN A PIG’S EYE148 Derby Street, Salem, 978-741-4436, inapigseye.com