Mamma Maria, North End, Boston

When one thinks of the North End, one may automatically think of tourists, double parked streets and chaos. Unfortunately this thought isn't entirely inaccurate, especially in regard to Hanover Street, and especially in the summer months. However, a quick turn off of Hanover and all the hustle and bustle and you can find yourself enjoying the calm serenity of North Square. There, in a renovated brownstone, sits Mamma Maria, a locally sourced Italian restaurant with a daily changing menu and a flair for detail.



Entering the structure feels like entering a home, the original layout preserved, with every crevice of the elegant manor used for premium dining space. We were led upstairs to a beautiful dining room with commanding views of downtown Boston. Gracious staff welcomed us, set us up with water and then disappeared as we set through the menu.


I'm sure it comes as no surprise, I had perused the menu for Mamma Maria at least a dozen times prior to the evening, and though knowing that what I was viewing on line was merely a sample as changes and additions are brought in each day, I had settled on their Rabbit Pasta. As I looked through the actual menu that evening I was thrilled to see the dish was still available. I went through a quick debate between that and a Suckling Pig dish, but, with assistance from our server, stuck with my gut and chose the rabbit.

I started with an arugula salad, paired with a creamy vinaigrette, crisp bacon and mandarine orange sections. the pairing of these ingredients was really a delight. The peppery arugula was offset by the creamy dressing, rounding out the flavors so that neither over came the other. I thought that the pairing of the orange with the bacon though was a stroke of genius. I always feel so healthy eating oranges, their plump juiciness, with their natural sweetness, they just always provide such refreshment. A bite of the orange mixed with the ever appealing yet indulgent crisp bacon was perfection. I loved the two together.


Now, I know what you're thinking, how could I eat rabbit. I understand the disgust- to be frank I cannot think about what I'm eating when I eat rabbit lest I will break down in tears. I made a pledge to myself a couples years ago that I would learn to love every food possible (aside from hard boiled eggs in any capacity (blech)) and so I have been trying all sorts of foods I never would have tried previously. Rabbit was on that list. I can say this much, if you can get past the image of Peter Cottontail, this protein is delicious.


Mamma Maria created a perfect dish for it as well. Wide noodles matched with the gamey meat, coated in a light tomato sauce- every flavor worked together. The carb-tastic noodles were the perfect back drop to the simple sauce, which played down to the tender and well cooked meat. It was clear that the rabbit was the star of this show, and its tender, full flavored qualities ensured that this decision was not in vain. It was delicious.
Mamma Maria truly impressed me. A spot that I have passed a hundred times provides a beautiful, elegant space to enjoy a meal, and a quiet conversation, or a family gathering. The service is spot on, welcoming, joking when needed, and extremely knowledgeable. Their daily changing menu, with references to the farms that they are able to pull ingredients, screams fresh preparations, and a true dedication to their craft. Mamma Maria is on my short list of fantastic North End restaurants....scratch that -Mama Maria quickly moved to the the short list of favorite Boston restaurants.

Giacomo's, North End, Boston

There are those restaurants that you just have to return to…normally again and again and again. Giacomo’s, North End location, is one of those restaurants for me. In fact, I’ve even written about it here before, and now here I am repeating an entry. That’s just how much I love Giacomo’s- it deserves another entry, a check in years later to assure you that yes-it is still every bit as fantastic as before.



As though by design, I was awarded my favorite seat last night, two chairs placed at the end of the high bar that wraps around the exposed kitchen. The vantage point the perch gives you allows full viewing of the full restaurant, and open access to the kitchen as the chefs and cooks prepare pastas and seafood, taking orders from the staff and pushing out entrees to the hungry patrons. The vibe in Giacomo’s is timeless, the wait staff treats their customers as family, in for a ribbing where needed, a joke and a smile where appropriate, and efficient service over all. I sat back in my seat last night, watched my friend be harassed by our waiter, and enjoyed every minute of the evening.


We started with their special appetizer for the night, a large sphere of Burrata cheese, set atop a small pile of tomatoes, roasted red peppers and basil and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. The Burrata, one of my all-time favorite cheeses was wonderful, with the firm outer casing, breaking through to the creamier inside; the flavors were wonderfully creamy and salty at once. Despite the cold temperatures of winter, Giacomo’s located some fresh, red, flavorful tomatoes for their appetizer. What might be considered a “simple salad” it is the beauty of the fresh, pungent flavors that makes it sing.


Now Giacomo’s gives serious options when it comes to entrees. Beyond the normal preset meals, they also have a list of seafood that can be paired with linguine and then a sauce matched with it of your choice. I knew exactly what I was craving when I walked in last night, and quickly settled on linguine with shrimp and their homemade Fra Diavlo sauce. I was given a platter of pasta. The steaming dish was loaded with thick linguine noodles, well sauced and dotted with shrimp. Fra Diavlo sauce is one of my favorites. The translation (loosely) is “from the fire” so traditionally it is supposed to pack a little heat. However too often I find minimal spice in variations around town, and I’m left thinking that there isn’t much difference between it and a standard Marinara sauce. This does not apply at Giacomo’s. Their sauce is well spiced, full of flavor and basically plate licking good. Paired with tender shrimp and a noodle that can stand up to the full flavors, it is pasta perfection.


Giacomo’s, though a tourist trap, is a piece of Boston tradition for me. It is a place where the wait staff recognizes the repeat offenders, and everyone is treated like family. The food is comforting, classic and hearty. The wine list is short, but incredibly affordable, and all combined- Giacomo’s remains my favorite in the North End.

Gennaro's 5 North Square, North End, Boston

I love the North End.  I love the cobbled streets. I love hearing the snippets of conversation in Italian as I weave through the tourists.  I love the restaurant managers who stand on the streets and try to entice the passerby into their restaurant.  It is a jovial atmosphere, one of indulgence and excitement.  It is quintessential, and it is wonderful.  However, with the seemingly hundreds of restaurants lining the streets, how do you choose which to go to?

The thing about the North End, is that though there are many many options to pick from for sustenance, there is little variation.  Sure, there are stand outs, Mare, for example does an incredible job on Italian style seafood, as does Neptune Oyster.  The Waterfront bar does a great job with pub grub and a great sports atmosphere, and Giacomo's delivers consistently good food, reasonable prices and great staff.  However, for the most part, the restaurants offer the same fare- red sauce Italian, dishes loaded with cheese and butter (not that I have a problem with either), and heaping portions of pasta.  Much of the imagination seems to be lost, and in it's place, a "feed the masses" approach has been taken on.  The dishes are stereotypical, they cater to the tourists who want "real Italian food", and therefore serve up Chicken Parmesan by the platter.  

Friday evening a friend suggested that we dine at Gennaro's 5 North Square Restaurant, located in my favorite part of the North End.  The North Square is a beautiful area, removed from the hub bub of Hanover Street, where the streets are cobbled, the buildings quaint, and the smell of flowers always seems to be in the air.  I transport back to Rome every time I walk through the area.  Having never dined at Gennaro's I was excited to check it out.  

I relished the North End that evening, skimming through Hanover street in my flats, maneuvering past the groups of Boston visitors, pausing at the corner by Gennaro's to change into heels- a practice I engage in far too often to protect against sprained ankles on those lovely streets I admire so much.  I was greeted by the restaurant manager outside the address, and he went through the obligatory sales pitch to have me dine there, as he found that my plans led me to his establishment already, he waved me to the bar to wait as my friend had not yet arrived.  Wait I did.  I waited to be greeted by the bar tender who appeared to be chatting with friends, I waited for the wine menu (still chatting), I waited for my order to be taken (a broken bottle the culprit this time), I waited for my glass of wine (more chatting), and then I waited to pay my bill (reason for this delay unknown).  Finally though, I had my wine, my bill was paid, and we were seated at our table, menus in front of us.  

We chose to start with an order of Calamari, the squid fried golden brown with slices of banana peppers in the mix.  The Calamari were served hot and crispy a fair amount of breading to make them really tasty, but not nearly enough of those fried, spicy banana peppers for my liking.  They were served with two dipping sauces, a standard Marinara, and, bunking tradition, a sweet chili pepper sauce.  That second sauce left me a bit perplexed.  Calamari is such a delicious vehicle for flavors, it seemed odd that this wholly Italian restaurant, un touched by "fusion" cuisine, would add in a sauce that tasted more Thai than anything.  It was ok, but nothing to write home about.  Additionally, the Marinara was served cold, which was a strange sensation with the hot Calamari.

I settled on the rolled stuffed eggplant as my main course, described as grilled eggplant, stuffed with ricotta cheese, roasted garlic and spinach, baked with marinara sauce and cheese, and then served with a side of pasta.  A few things, the side of pasta was actually placed below the rolls of eggplant, so it was impossible to ignore (as I had hoped to do) so I indulged in the nicely al dente spaghetti. The Eggplant itself appeared more fried (bread crumb coating) than it did grilled, however the texture was a welcome relief to the soft eggplant and creamy stuffing.  The ricotta, garlic and spinach came together nicely blending their rich, sweet and hearty flavors into a single note which was well accentuated with the acid of the tomato.  

Gennaro's definitely delivered in providing a typical North End experience.  Big portions of food, nicely settled into the red sauce variety, executed soundly.  There isn't anything overly exciting there, but there is that warm, comfortable feeling that you want if you were visit your Italian grandmother's kitchen.  The wait staff was pleasant, even remembering my friend from a previous visit.  They were efficient, and knowledgeable.  Gennaro's is a place that I can add to my list of "would return to, but not in a great hurry" spots in the North End.        

Prezza, North End, Boston

This year we decided to change things up for Mother's Day this year, and as opposed to having a somewhat rushed brunch on Sunday, my sister and I took my mom out for dinner on Saturday evening.  After much debate, we settled on Prezza, an Italian restaurant located on Fleet Street in the North End.

Prezza mimics the food of the Abruzzi region in Italy, where they depend heavily on polenta, fresh vegetables and pork dishes.  With spring upon us I was excited to see how they played with the bounty of spring vegetables that are out now. 

It was evident, as soon as we entered the restaurant, that they were extremely busy.  The bar was bustling, a large party had a private space cornered off in the head of the room, and our table was about 10 minutes behind.  Seated finally however, we were greeted by our pleasant waiter, and promptly served rustic Italian Bread and Focaccia with olive oil, and allowed us time to review our menus and make our choices.

We settled on two appetizers- my mom's favorite of stuffed squash blossoms and wood grilled octopus and and squid.

The star of this round were those stuffed squash blossoms.  These beautiful flowers had been fried to a beautiful light crisp, and then placed over soft, cheesy polenta accented with pancetta and tomatoes.  I loved the texture contrasts between the very crisp flower, with its very delicate flavor and natural sweetness, and the rich, creamy polenta.  The tomatoes added a perfect touch of acid to break up the richness, and the crisp pancetta lent smokey pockets as a final twist within the dish.  I had a hard time keeping my fork from drifting to this plate more than a few times.

The wood grilled octopus and squid were served with braised cannelloni beans enhanced with parsley.  The octopus and squid were both well cooked- both brought to a perfect textural state without being chewy- a difficult line to stay on the right side of.  Both were clean and fresh tasting, which paired beautifully with the dense beans and bright parsley. This was a beautiful dish, full of the flavors of Italy.

We finished our appetizers and I was excited to move on to the entrees, unfortunately we had a wait before they were brought to our table.  I am not sure what caused this exactly, other tables were served promptly, our neighbors sat while we enjoyed our appetizers and left mid way through our entree after having a complete meal.  Our entrees, for whatever reason were delayed at least a half an hour to forty minutes, with little to no explanation.  Unfortunately, while it doesn't reflect the food, an error like a long wait, to me, plays a big part in the over all feel of the meal. 

As the case may be, I was very excited when, after the long wait, our entrees were served.  My sister had decided on their pea raviolini prepared with Jonas ham, fresh spring peas and marscapone cheese, I settled on the grilled swordfish swerved with a chunky artichoke and potato "stew" and my mother chose the crispy pork chops served with vinegar peppers.  My sisters spring pea raviolini were delicious- silky marscapone sweetened with fresh peas and encased in well made pasta.  It was a wonderful dish, though I did think that the peas were a bit under cooked and therefore a bit toothsome.  My mothers pork was incredible.  A huge bone in chop, crusted in panko bread crumbs, moist and perfectly cooked.  The fattiness of the pork was wonderfully offset by the vinegar peppers which were perfectly tart and still had a bit of crunch to them.   I envied this dish.  My swordfish however was not as successful as the other two.  The fish itself was well cooked, but hadn't been seasoned before it was grilled.  I found that the stew, a puree of artichoke and potato with larger pieces kept whole for contrast, was also woefully under seasoned.  The unfortunate result was a rather bland dish, and one that I had difficulty eating due to its lack of flavor. 

We decided to split a dessert as well- and chose their fig turnover, paired with a port wine reduction and a pistachio glace.  The fig in the turnover was encased in a beautifully flaky crust, light and buttery all at once.  The filling was natural fig, sweet in and of itself.  By itself this was delicious, however when paired with the port wine reduction, the syrupy sweet over took the light crust and resulted in a too sweet combination.

Overall, Prezza is a beautiful restaurant, with friendly staff and some great ideas.  They are not a "typical" Italian restaurant, however it appears their execution is a bit lacking.  Under seasoning, long waits, these are things that can be easily fixed so it's a place that I would try again, however at this time, I'll try a few other places before returning.

Modern Pastry, North End, Boston

It was a few years ago that I realized the power of the pen.  Rankled by a terrible experience at the "beloved" Mike's Pastry, I used this blog as an outlet for my anger.  I took pen to paper, or in this case, fingers to key board and I vented.  I ranted, I raved, I inferred, I implied, I down right blamed.  I lofted my voice high and stood on my soap box to alert the masses to the terrible experience I had at Mike's.  Today, I stand by my decision, however my actions made it necessary for my family and I to find another supplier for our Italian Pastry obsession.  It didn't take long, or much hardship, to find that new place.  The same day as my mistreatment at Mike's, I had picked up some Sfogliatella, a favorite of my mother's, for breakfast.  They were fresh, crisp and ultimately better than Mike's, and so we began frequenting Modern for all of our Italian Pastry needs.

Easter, in our house, is celebrated not with chocolate bunnies or jelly beans.  Rather it is exalted with Italian delicacies.  This year, we made the annual trek to Modern and purchased the standard Sfogliatella, a Ricotta Pie, and a few of their Rum Soaked Baba's.

Sfogliatella are a unique beast.  Often confused with a Lobster Tail pastry, they couldn't be more different.  Their crust is flaky and crisp, a bite rewards you with a satisfying crunch giving way to a flavorful dough, deceivingly light in texture.  You might be able to kid yourself that it isn't such an indulgence, but be sure, those light, crisp layers of dough are separated with the almighty butter.  Any thoughts of lightness however are immediately done away with once you reach the filling inside this clam shell shaped crust. Inside exists a dense filling made of mix of yellow cream with semolina to thicken it, and flavored with citrus and cinnamon.  It is thick and rich but beautifully flavored making it rather addictive. 

Ricotta pie is my all time favorite.  Ricotta cheese is just such a wonderful, versatile and clean tasting cheese.  It's flavor is light enough to adapt to both savory and sweet uses, and Ricotta Pie is one of its shining moments.  Utterly simplistic in its form, Ricotta Pie is basically sweetened Ricotta Cheese, baked between two sheets of Pasta Frolla pastry dough- an incredibly straightforward dough of flour, butter, and egg yolks.  The result is a golden yellow crust, soft to the fork but with hints of citrus here at Modern, that gives way to the very dense filling.  Lets face it, as great as the crust is, we're here for the filling, and that ricotta is perfectly sweetened -just enough to feel dessert like, but not so much that beauty of the fresh ricotta is lost. This one goes down for the books.

Rum soaked Baba's (or as we call them- Baba Rum's) are one of my families traditions.  Light sponge cake is doused with rum, and filled with custard finally topped with a cherry.  The sponge cake maintains its almost grainy texture, though absorbs the bounty of the rum, and then with each bite, fades into the delicate custard.  

Modern is well known throughout Boston as making some of the freshest pastries possible.  As a testament, the Sfogliatella that we purchased had just come out of the oven, and were almost too hot to handle.  It just doesn't get much better than that.

Modern is no second place to any other bakery on Hanover Street.  Their pastries are of the highest quality, their stock of Italian specialty products is extensive and their staff patient and helpful.     

Mother Anna's, North End, Boston

It sits like a beacon at the top of Hanover Street- welcoming all visitors to the row of Italian cuisine.  Mother Anna's has sat in their space, a watchful eye over the North End, for over 7 decades serving up Italian classics, destined to satisfy those pasta "comfort food" cravings.  On a raw, rainy evening, I made my way to Mother Anna's to catch up with some wonderful former colleagues, and warm up with some hearty Italian fare.

We started our evening with a small plate of their Antipasti, which the waiter assured us would be plenty for us to share.  He was very right in his assessment.  A bowl was delivered to our table that was piled high with greens, hard boiled eggs, steamed green beans, roasted red peppers, salami, cheese and tuna.  It was a literal mountain of food rising out of its container.  I really enjoyed the variety of ingredients included in this selection.  The sharp provolone, the flaked tuna, and of course the salami.  I did feel a little sad for the green beans which had suffered the plight of being substantially over cooked, but all in all it was a nice selection, and absolutely more than enough food for the three of us.

It may sound odd, but I have an old standby when I head out for Italian.  Sometimes, I'm just not in the mood for red sauce, and when that occurs, I often order penne, chicken and broccoli.  I like to think it's healthy (kinda).  The beauty of this dish is that every place does it a little differently.  Mother Anna's was unlike any version I've seen before.  A big steaming bowl was placed in front of me full of penne blanketed in a cheesy sauce enhanced with spears and florets of broccoli and large chunks of chicken meat.  Though this version was much more decadent than the white wine sauce version I was anticipating, however it did have a really lovely flavor.  Sharp flavors of Parmesan were blended into the buttery sauce, and brightened with just a bit of white wine.  I would have enjoyed the spears of broccoli to have been a bit less cooked as their bright green hue had been cooked out into a duller, deeper color, but all in all the dish was hearty and satisfying.  

Mother Anna's doesn't present itself to be gourmet, nor is it.  It instills a family vibe, a welcoming presence, and its food echoes this feel.  Like your Italian Grandmother who begins heckling you for being "skin and bones" from the moment you enter her home, and then subsides into a chorus of "mangia, mangia"- Mother Anna's is down home classic food meant to fill you to the brim, and then send you home with the leftovers.   

Bricco, North End, Boston

It's that time of year again!  Restaurant Week has come to Boston!  I have written about Restaurant Week several times over the years, with mixed experiences.  This year I have several reservations at a variety of places around town, I'm interested to see how the experiences differ from spot to spot.

Last night I joined two friends at Bricco in the North End.  Bricco is part of the De Pasquale family of restaurants, similar to Mare.  It presents itself as sophisticated twists on classic Italian dishes.  The menu for Restaurant Week was large with several options for the first and second courses.  I was impressed at the diversity of the dishes, it seemed that every diners craving could be met within that menu.  I was in a seafood mood, so I elected their mussels for my first course, and the monk fish entree for my second course.    The mussels were described as being in a garlic and oil broth with caper berries, olives and a chickpea fritelle.  My dish was tasty, but oddly not what was described. The mussels were served in a wine and garlic broth, without caper berries, with tomatoes rather than olives, and missing the chickpea fritelle.  Overall they had nice flavor, however several of the shells were broken,  a few mussels were over cooked, and there was a little sand present, but overall they were tasty.  I was a little sad that they weren't exactly as described, I was intrigued by the chickpea fritelle.

The monk fish was very delicious.  Monk fish is a very rich fish, almost meaty in consistency, and with deep flavor.  It had been paired with a spicy tomato sauce and accented with mussels and clams.  The acidity and the spice of the sauce worked really well with the dense fish.  The clams and mussels had nicely picked up the flavor of the sauce as well, but were again over cooked to a chewy state.  Also the menu described it being served with a garlic crostone (basically garlic toast) which was also oddly missing from my plate.

Dessert was a choice between bread pudding, and chocolate molten cake, I, being the chocoholic that I am went with the chocolate cake.  It did not disappoint.  Rich, chocolaty, warm...it was everything I wanted and in a perfect portion.

The dinner definitely had highs and lows.  The monk fish and dessert were delicious, the shellfish were only ok.  The really troubling part of dinner was the timing of it.  We had a 7pm reservation and were seated around 7:10 or so based on our own arrivals.  We had an extremely pleasant waitress who was friendly and helpful however, it took an extremely long time for our first course to come, and an equally long time for our second.  The table next to us was having their appetizer when we ordered, and they were gone before we got our second course.  Believe me when I say those two love birds were not rushing through dinner. I didn't mind too terribly as I was glad to be catching up with friends, but it did seem awkward.  

To use a word to described Bricco I'd use "acceptable".  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.  If you're looking for Italian Fare, it's a fine choice, though I can think of far better alternatives in Boston.   

Lyndell's (Cupcakes), North End location, Boston

In my family, when there is an occasion (anything from birthdays, anniversaries, and promotions to the simple "its Friday", "I've had a bad day", "I've had a good day") it is celebrated with cake.  Based on this, it really comes as no surprise when, out of the blue, I get a craving for cake.  

It hits every so often.  I'll be sitting quietly, minding my own business, and all I can think about is a piece of nice soft, moist cake topped with sugary icing.  My mouth starts to water at the very idea, and soon I'm consumed by the desire to indulge my desire.  Luckily I know that my mother is often up for satiating the need as well, so when I realised that I couldn't resist any longer, I called my mom and we decided to check out Lyndell's for some cupcakes.

Lyndell's, now with three locations servicing the Boston area, opened in 1857, and thereby has a long standing history of supplying the city with sweet treats.  When they opened, long over a century ago, they began with a commitment to freshness.  They made their wares daily, and have kept that tradition going, adhering to the "old" way of doing things, keeping their recipe for success going strong.  I have heard about Lyndell's for years, and when they opened their North End location a few years back, I made a mental note to visit and finally check them out.

Saturday, after a long wait, was the day to head to Lyndell's.  We ventured over to the North End and selected a few cupcakes to share- a vanilla with strawberry icing, a vanilla with vanilla icing, and a chocolate with a peanut butter icing.  Visually I was excited.  These were not the enormous cupcakes that you see a lot places doing now.  These were average sized cupcakes, with a heap of hand applied icing, the strawberry frosting even had flecks of real strawberry in it!  I felt as though all of these were positive signs.  

Sadly, my visual excitement was soon to be dashed.  The taste test did not hold up its end of the bargain.  I began with the vanilla with vanilla icing- nice and simple.  The cake was dry and rather flavorless, though the icing was sugary and sweet, the type of icing I was hoping for.  The strawberry icing, oddly enough, though showed evidence of strawberries in the mix, contained very little, if any, actual strawberry flavor.  I tasted very little variation from the all vanilla frosting.  The cake was just as dry and lifeless.  The chocolate cake did deliver a bit better, a moister cake with good dense chocolate taste.  It had been topped with a chocolate ganache, and then peanut butter icing had been piped on top of that.  The peanut butter flavor could have been stronger in my book.  I just didn't feel as though it was enough of a contrast between sweet and that nutty goodness I was seeking.  

Suffice it to say, we split three cupcakes, I had less then my half of each and the remainders hit the garbage.

So these go down in the disappointment column, a long standing tradition for sure, but perhaps one that could use some updating?  Stronger flavors and a less dry cake would do wonders for Lyndell's.  

Mike's Pastry, Boston

There are some places that you just anticipate greatness from. They are the places that either you have heard stellar reviews about, or better still those that you have been dining at for years and have always provided a level of pure deliciousness that cant be compared to. For as long as I can remember, Mike's Pastry in Bostons North End has been the only place for my family to get Italian pastry in the Boston area. We haven't dared to touch another purveyor for fear of a complete waste, and that nagging thought- we should have gone to Mikes.
Over the past couple of years though, I have been hearing, more and more, that Modern Pastry, just down the street from Mike's, is the better pastry spot. It seemed like blasphemy, and with a daunting two hour line each time Ive passed it, Ive happily gone about my business loving Mike's and blissfully unaware.
This past weekend my family and I celebrated my mothers birthday, and as part of tradition, I headed over to Mike's early on Saturday morning to pick up a pre ordered rum cake, beautifully en scribed with "Happy Birthday Mom". Package in hand, I turned to leave the North End and had an idea- at 9:30 on a Saturday morning, the Modern didn't have anywhere close to a two hour line. I decided to pop in and pick up Sfogliatella, a favorite pastry of my moms that is good enough to enjoy with morning coffee. Sfogliatella, also known as a Lobster Tail, can be made two ways. Both have a light flakey crust formed in a shape that resembles a lobster tail, however it can either be stuffed with a sweet, white, fresh cream filling, or a yellow custard filling. From what I have seen, normally when one orders a Lobster Tail, they receive the sweet cream filling, and when you order a Sfogliatella, the custard filling is given.
So I headed to my moms with my cake from Mike's, and three Sfogliatella from the Modern, excited to taste compare, certain that the hype around the Modern was simply hype and couldn't possibly compare to the beloved Mike's. We opened the box, and split the first Sfogliatella- it was still warm from the oven- an experience we had never had at Mike's. It was positively delicious. The cream had a wonderful background flavor that we couldn't quite place between cinnamon, or almond, and it was all put together so nicely. I have to say, from Mikes, I have never been a fan of Sfogliatella, Ive always watched my mother enjoy them and wondered what the fuss was about. From the Modern, I loved it.
A bit jolted from our revelation that possibly the Modern might be better, fresher, than Mike's, a few hours later we cut into the rum cake to "taste test" it before serving it later that evening. It was a very good thing that we did. Anticipating that great rum soaked cake, separated by creamy custard, what I tasted was nothing like that. It was sour, and we wondered what had happened to it. Had they used Cointreau instead of rum? Did they use lemon extract? We called immediately to complain, and were told that we could bring it back. So back to the North End we drove, no easy feat for those of you not familiar with the area, and I popped back into Mikes to return the offensive cake, and hoping to find out what exactly was wrong with it, as I had eaten a bit of it trying to figure it out.
Mike's was a lot more crowded at 3:00 pm than it had been at 9:30 am, and so I stood in line. Finally, I reached the counter and asked to speak with the manager, as we had been instructed over the phone. He came over and I asked that he taste the cake so that it could be determined what was wrong with it, basically I wanted to know in case an ambulance needed to be called at some point- I wanted to be able to tell the EMT's what I had eaten. The manager flatly refused to taste it, and then, somewhat rudely asked if I wanted to know what had happened. Of course I did, so I learned that one of their refrigerators had died the night before, and they tried to move everything to working refrigerators, but somehow our cake had been missed. And so, we were sold a soured cake.
There are several facets to this that concern me. First, that their quality check is so poor that a pre ordered cake was missed in a refrigerator meltdown. Wouldn't you think that for a loyal customer, who has ordered in advance, that that cake would be rescued? Second, the attitude that I was greeted with when exchanging the cake. I may not be a menacing looking person, and I may have been trying to be polite in the face of huge lines and not wanting to give my beloved Mike's a bad name, but that does not give the workers the right to tell me that they really wont be able to do anything if I am sickened by the cake other than to give me a hug. Honestly- the last thing that I want is to be hugged by a stranger in the face of eating sour cake, and on that note, I found it to be an offensive statement. Had I eaten more of the cake, or had I served it to the rest of my family, and they had become sickened by it, a hug would not have solved the law suit that I would have served Mike's Pastry.
Apparently the manager sensed my discomfort, and so after wrapping up the new cake, which he warned was probably "too fresh" and we had to let sit for a while, he wrote out a gift certificate good for $25, or...you guessed it- a hug. $25 barely covered the cost of the cake.
So I left Mike's feeling de-valued as a loyal customer, and disrespected as a female. It disheartens me to say, that if anyone would like a $25 gift certificate please let me know- I wont be returning to Mikes.

Taranta, North End, Boston

This past weekend my family celebrated my up-coming birthday by taking me out to dinner at Taranta in the North End. Taranta is one of those places that I have only heard good things about and so I was really looking forward to enjoying their offerings. It is an Italian/Peruvian place, so it encompasses all of the wonderful flavors of the Mediterranean.

I realized that we were really in for a treat very early on in our meal. As soon as we had sat down, my sister noticed a bit of something, lingering on her wine glass from its previous use. She gave it a funny look, and I'm sure earmarked it as a first request for when our server arrived. Even before our server had arrived though, another helpful member of the staff had noticed the incident, and had already replaced her glass. Small touches like this, noticing discomfort or concern of a patron, is something that is invaluable in a restaurant. It shows great attention to detail, and one that you can hope is carried forth into the food.

We started with two appetizers, one their mussels prepared with Marsala wine, Italian bacon, and shallots, the second was shrimp and broccoli rabe over crostini. I felt as though the mussels were a great showcase to the Mediterranean influence of the restaurant which would make labeling it as simply Italian, fully incorrect. The Marsala wine was a delicious throw back to Sicilian cooking, which is fully different from Northern, or even Southern Italian cuisine. The sweetness of this wine was beautifully offset by the smokey bacon. Shallots were the perfect ingredient to round this out. Though they are normally grown in Asia, they are a symbol, at least to me, of French cuisine, as garlic is a symbol of peasant Italian cooking. The addition of shallots here, rounded out the enforcement that the chef was looking for influences from the surrounding cuisines. In return, the shrimp and broccoli rabe were perfect. Served with a grilled crostini that soaked up the cooking juices from the sauteing of the shrimp and rapi, it was incredibly well flavored. I have found that broccoli rabe can be difficult to cook, and its inherent bitter flavor can be overpowering, however here it was very nicely prepared, and they had been able to balance out the bitter flavor.

I decided to try something new for my main course, and having never had trout before, I elected to have their trout which was served grilled, with saffron butter, and with pallares, peruvian yellow potatoes, and wilted greens. Overall, this dish was extremely well flavored, light and yet indulgent with the richness of the saffron butter and the potatoes. The pallares, which are lima butter beans, were a delicious addition to the dish as they simply enhanced that butter flavor. Now, perhaps I should have been aware of this, but I was not anticipating the trout to be served whole, unfortunately the presence of the fish' head on my plate was a bit disconcerting to me. However, the flavor of the fish was delicious and it served to be a very tasty meal despite its presentation. I would have enjoyed there being more of the wilted greens however, as I only had a few even after I went digging for them. To be honest, I didn't even have enough of them to be able to figure out just what kind of "greens" they were.

I have to say, our service throughout the evening was top notch. From the very start with the glass replacement, to the description of the specials, to her knowledge of the menu and wine list, to her simple allowance of us to dominate her table for the entire evening, our server was fantastic. The meals were delicious, as all of my dining companions agreed, and we were each able to linger over coffee, port and sambuca to close out our meal.

I must say, Taranta was a birthday dinner to remember.