Visiting Boston, Part 1 - North End

Jenny and I recently traveled on vacation to one of America's great cities, Boston. I was born there, but I haven't been there since my family moved away 26 years ago. In the next three installments of NTSC, I'd like to share a few observations and tips. Call it NTSC's first road trip (or more precisely, air trip).

Jenny and I go nuts over Italian food. Absolutely insane. A few years ago we had the occasion to travel to Italy with a church group. In 10 days we ate everything from pasta, to gelato, to frescos of pasta and gelato. But that's another post...

We knew that our trip to Beantown wouldn't be complete without eating in Boston's North End, center of the Italian community and home to dozens of spectacular restaurants and wicked good bakeries. Atlanta has little in the way of ethnic neighborhoods, at least with the density and quality of places like San Francisco's Chinatown or Boston's North End, so Jenny and I took the opportunity to sample some local eats.

We treated ourselves to a truly stupendous dinner at Bricco (I had the filled pasta and organic meatballs on the top right of the linked page). We rarely eat out at home, and we'd decided to go all out for dinner. It was worth it. We did, however, save room for dessert.

A friend of ours recommended a local bakery for some post-dinner eats. Turns out this place wasn't some dive, but a cornerstone of the North End baked goods scene. Mike's Pastry is known for its cannolis and cakes, and on weekends the lines frequently lead out the front door.

Frankly I didn't bother with the cakes. Don't get me wrong, they looked incredible, but I had a serious hankering for a cannoli. This place didn't dissapoint. Jenny and I worked our way up to the counter where a nice, but obviously busy lady took our order. We couldn't sit in the place because it was so packed, so we took our delightfully wrapped box outside and ate our dessert standing on the sidewalk. We didn't feel too wierd, as there were other patrons hanging out, mouths stuffed with powdered sugar dribbled on thier shirts. My cannoli was so rich and creamy, and had just the right amount of sweetness. It was SO worth it (worth enough, in fact, to go back the next day).

I loved Italy, and I think because of my fond memories of Rome I got a soft spot for the North End. Frankly, I could have spent my whole vacation there, eating pasta and walking around the narrow streets.

How'd we manage to keep with our healthy lifestyle? Stay tuned for part 2...