We explain the title of this website with the subtitle ‶Bringing the tastes of travel back home.″ Sometimes, though, tastes close to home can be transporting in themselves.

It’s the middle of June and we’re already pining for summer on the Italian coast. But in our case, we can get a dose of that sublime experience by going to Bar Enza (Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett St.; 617-661-5050; bar-enza.com) in Harvard Square. It’s nice that the food and wines of the Cinqueterre, the Amalfi Coast, or the beach at Capri are a 10-minute walk from our home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

We have chef Tony Susi to thank for that. Since he took over the helm at Bar Enza in April, he’s crafted menus that embody the Italian penchant for fresh market cooking and certain classic ingredients. The menus draw heavily on local farms and fisheries but many dishes take advantage of the range of great cheeses, prosciutto crudo, olives, vinegars, and oils from Italy. Born and bred in Boston, Susi comes from an Abruzzi family. He’s known among the Boston-area restaurant community as something of a pasta whisperer — a chef who can conjure simple but delicious pasta courses and whip up the airiest possible gnocchi. (That’s Susi with a gnocchi plate at right.)

He recently unveiled some new summer dishes at a Bar Enza patio party, and for a few brief hours we imagined we were at a little Positano trattoria. The buffet table fairly groaned with smart takes on the greatest hits of Italian antipasti: a block of nutty Piave, another block of Pecorino Sardo (a crumbly hard cheese), a rainbow of ripe olives, and paper thin slices of prosciutto.

Crafting summer one plate at a time

Some of the prepared options were gently inventive. From left below, Susi roasted finger-thin Japanese eggplants with goat cheese and pine nuts and fluttered whole basil leaves over it all. The crustless finger sandwiches in the second block are filled with a delectable shrimp and cucumber salad. In the third block, he set out spears of raw vegetables with an eggplant dip and a bagna cauda (a warm sauce of garlic, anchovies, and butter). The biggest hit of the party, however, were the sliders filled with prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, and a basil leaf (below right). To pull the flavors together, he spread the buns with a tangy tomato jam made by rehydrating sun-dried tomatoes with a gastrique and puréeing the result in a blender. It was a genius touch — intense but simple.

As the photo at the top of this posts attests, Susi topped off the party with Aperol granitas. Even the sunshine felt like Italian summer.