Italian food

Wait, the North End has weird crap to eat?

adamg — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:48:58 +0000

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

adamg — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:06:59 +0000

Scott 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?

adamg — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:48:17 +0000

Chef 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

adamg — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:34:02 +0000

William 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

adamg — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 01:38:01 +0000

Boston Restaurant Talk reports the Harrison Avenue Italian restaurant has ceased to be.

North End to get more low-end, high-end dining

adamg — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:12:19 +0000

The 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

adamg — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:01:33 +0000

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

adamg — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:01:20 +0000

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

adamg — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:09:48 +0000

Shelly 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

adamg — Thu, 20 May 2010 03:03:28 +0000

Matt 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. ...

Having a Legal move in down the street probably didn't help now defunct Dedham seafood place

adamg — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:06:05 +0000

Finz, which offered Legal-style prices if not Legal-style food will be replaced by an Italian place, Wicked Local Dedham reports.

It'll be the latest effort to make a go of the location behind the Holiday Inn, which has seen restaurants come and go over the years. Finz was probably doomed when Legal opened up in Legacy Place last fall.

Via Boston Restaurant Talk.

Fire at Roslindale Square restaurant goes to one alarm

adamg — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:49:31 +0000

The Boston Fire Department tweets a one-alarm fire broke out shortly before 11 p.m. in the rear of Delfino's, at 754 South St.

The department says the stove fire only did about $10,000 in damage, but filled the restaurant with smoke. One firefighter was sent to the hospital for evaluation of a possible injury.

Delfino's was one of the first restaurants to move into Roslindale Square during its revival in the mid-1990s.

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Braintree to get old-style Italian restaurant

adamg — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:28:28 +0000

Boston Restaurant Talk reports the Chateau, a chain of big ol' Italian restaurants, is opening its seventh location on the John Mahar Highway near South Braintree Square.

We go the one on Rte. 1 in Norwood sometimes. It's pretty cool in an Anthony's Pier 4/Ken's kind of way, only without the sad days-gone-by vibe you sometimes get in those places (plus, there's something relaxing about watching people practice their putting at the golf course on the other side of the picture windows).

The age-old debate: Cannolis from Mike's or the Modern?

adamg — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:08:07 +0000

Jen can't decide, but says the cannolis at Mike's have one advantage - if you buy so many that you can't eat them all at once:

... From personal experience, I have found that the cannolis from Mike's Pastry keep longer. The shells seem to stay relatively crunchy for at least one whole day (overnight), whereas the Modern Pastry cannolis get soggy in less than 24 hours. This could be because the Modern shells are smaller, lighter, and more delicate than the heftier, cookie-like shells from Mike's. ...

Surprisingly, she didn't ask where to get New York-style bagels

adamg — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:58:22 +0000

Lawn Guylander who finds herself stuck in Boston seeks help getting Italian and Chinese food in Boston of the sort that can only be found in New York because the water's different or something (oh, wait, that's bagels).

And one other thing: "I need some advice from other New Yorkers ONLY."