Italian food
Wait, the North End has weird crap to eat?
By adamg - 8/22/11 - 6:48 pm
Alex Mellion, who took this picture, wonders why Bizarre Foods guy Andrew Zimmern was being filmed on Hanover Street today. Based on his Twitter feed, he spent much of the day eating pretty normal North End-type stuff, like cannoli and sfogliatelli at Maria's Pastry and skate at the Daily Catch.
New owner plans one tiny little change in North End restaurant
By adamg - 8/17/11 - 2:06 pmScott Dyer, who is buying Nico at 417 Hanover St., told the Boston Licensing Board today he plans to change the name to Mico.
Mid-summer re-opening for Olives?
By adamg - 4/5/11 - 12:48 pmChef Todd English says he hopes to re-open his fire-damaged Olives restaurant by July - but without the wood-fired ovens the place has used since it opened 21 years ago.
English told the Boston Licensing Board that after two fires - the last a grease fire last May - he realized he had to go with a new ventilation system - and gas-fired ovens.
English was before the board to explain why Olives has been shut - and its liquor license unused - for nearly a year. The board decides Thursday whether to grant English more time to repair Olives or strip him of the liquor license.
Edible QR codes at North End restaurant
By adamg - 1/18/11 - 6:34 amWilliam McAdoo reports on Jose Duarte's experiments with printing QR codes (think of them as bar codes for the smartphone set) on the plates at his Taranta in the North End. Why? Imagine scanning in the code and reading up on the seafood sitting in front of you:
The problem was: how to get it on the plate? His first attempt was with a rubber stamp, using edible squid ink. The squid ink proved a bit oily with traces of sandy grit that clogged the stamp. He then decided to actually screen print the code onto the plate using a more refined squid ink. This worked better.
No mo' Rocca in the South End
By adamg - 1/1/11 - 8:38 pmBoston Restaurant Talk reports the Harrison Avenue Italian restaurant has ceased to be.
North End to get more low-end, high-end dining
By adamg - 12/9/10 - 3:12 pmThe Boston Licensing Board today approved a new wrap and sub shop on Salem Street and an expansion of Bricco on Hanover Street.
Downtown Crossing might get late-night Italian food - if a liquor license becomes available
By adamg - 8/20/10 - 2:01 pm
Proposed location next to Paramount Theatre.
The Boston Licensing Board this week deferred action on a license request for a proposed Italian restaurant at 550 Washington St. that would stay open until 2 a.m. because the city currently has no liquor licenses left to give out.
The proposed Salvatore's would feature a 34-seat bar designed for people who are alone but want to get a bite to eat, such as people whose spouses work a different schedule, owner Sal Lupoli told the board at a hearing on Tuesday. In addition to students - a new Suffolk dorm is opening atop the old Modern Theatre next month - downtown has a growing number of professional residents.
Lupoli's proposed closing time had the support of both the Midtown Park Plaza Neighborhood Association and Emerson Colllege - which would be Salvatore's landlord.
The restaurant's menu would be similar to that at the first Salvatore's, on Northern Avenue.
State law limits the number of liquor licenses Boston can give out.
Salem Street in the North End to get another Italian restaurant
By adamg - 7/28/10 - 2:01 pm
The Boston Licensing Board today approved a food-serving license for Cafe Nuovo, now going into the site of a long-abandoned restaurant at 76 Salem St. The board took no action on owner Vincent Ferrara's request for a beer and wine license, pending a meeting with a neighborhood group - and research by the board on whether the city has any of the licenses left to give - the total number is limited by state law.
Ferrara had originally proposed staying open until 2 a.m., but scaled that back to midnight on the request of another neighborhood group.
The new restaurant will serve breakfast starting at 7 a.m., light lunches and "family-style" full dinners. Ferrara said he hopes to open this summer.
Trying to settle the Hanover Street cannoli war once and for all
By adamg - 6/15/10 - 7:09 amShelly and Andreas get a cannoli apiece from Mike's and the Modern and then put them to the test. Hint: They determine the tourists might actually be on the right side in this.
North End getting cleaner, except on Charter Street, where somebody keeps throwing spaghetti and meatballs out the window
By adamg - 5/19/10 - 10:03 pmMatt Conti reports on progress against filth and vermin in the North End, thanks to concerted efforts by the city DPW, the city's designated rat catcher and residents - with one exception:
... Lastly, she noted a situation on Charter St. where cooked spaghetti and meatballs was being thrown out the window onto the street. ...
