Linguine with red clam sauce. The ubiquitous Sicilian favorite is on just about every menu in the North End — and with good reason. The simple-yet-fabulous dish combines the flavors of tomatoes, peppers, chopped clams, and, of course, pasta, creating one of our favorite Italian comfort foods. With so many recipe variations out there, the key to greatness lies in using fresh ingredients.

Hanover Street’s the Daily Catch (there also are locations on Fan Pier and in Brookline) may be known best for its calamari, but if you’re lucky enough to get a seat at this popular five-table, cash-only Sicilian seafood joint, don’t pass up the linguine with red clam sauce. Fresh clams (never canned) are removed from the shell and chopped before being added to the pasta, simmering in a pan of a rich, homemade red sauce. The dish — steaming frying pan and all — is then served to the eager customer. On a cool fall night, there’s no better way to chase away the chill than by eating a heaping mound of fragrant linguine right out of the pan. This takes comfort food to a whole new level.

Available for $16.50 at the Daily Catch, 323 Hanover Street, in Boston. Call (617) 523-8567. Also available at 2 Northern Avenue, Boston, (617) 772-4400, and 441 Harvard Street, Brookline, (617) 734-2700.