Boston's North End is well known for its abundance of Italian eateries in addition to its history as the city's oldest residential community. If you're visiting Boston and you enjoy Italian food, this is the place to be. Be sure to bring an appetite with you!
Pizzeria Regina
On our recent stroll along the Freedom Trail, we decided to eat an early dinner at Pizzeria Regina. The location in the North End is the original restaurant and dates back to 1926. So what makes this brick oven pizza so famous? The crust is thin, but not too thin, and there's a perfect ratio of sauce and cheese. Regina's is well known and loved by locals and tourists alike, so expect a line. We arrived around 3:30 and there were five parties ahead of us. The restaurant is tiny and there's no waiting area inside. You form a line outside and wait for someone to come out and ask, "How many you got?" Their goal is to feed you as quickly as possible so they can seat the next group. As a positive, service is quite fast.
(Don't smile, kids. And Allie, give me "the jaw.")
Galleria Umberto
Galleria Umberto is the official name but everyone calls it Umberto's. This restaurant is located on Hanover Street but the storefront is unassuming and if you aren't looking for it, you could easily walk right by. This is my absolute favorite lunch place for pizza, which is Sicilian style. The sauce is what makes the pizza so tasty here. A little sweet and absolutely delicious. Take note that they are only open for lunch and once the food runs out, they close for the day. When my office was located near State Street, my co-workers and I ate here about once a week. This isn't a sit down restaurant. You order your food from the counter and either take it to go or find a table, of which there are a fair amount. The two guys working the counter are friendly and know who the regular customers are.
Battle of the Bakeries
"Locals go to Modern, tourists go to Mike's." (I didn't make that up.) Located on Hanover Street, you'll find both Modern Pastry and Mike's Pastry. I insisted on a stop at Modern on our way out of the city to pick up dessert. Rich and I debated over the difference between Modern and Mike's. I usually order a cannoli and at Modern, the shells are filled with your order, making it as fresh as possible. Next time we're in the city, I've offered to take one for the team and taste test both Mike's and Modern.
These precious beauties survived the trek home.
That cannoli was a little slice of heaven.
3 comments:
I'm really enjoying your Boston posts. My husband and I love to travel but didn't make it to Boston before we started having babies. (We live in Michigan). Alas, Boston remains near the top of our list. We attend a trade show for our industry every year and it will be in Boston in 2017 so I think we'll be able to finally tick it off our list. Until then, I'm bookmarking all these posts!
You and your crew were just ahead of us in line at Regina's. Believe it or not, I first noticed your Jo Totes camera bag and pointed it out to my husband. (That's how I found your blog years ago.) It took me a minute to figure out how why you looked familiar..
And then we were called in to sit at the bar so I didn't say hi.
Plus I kind of felt weird saying, hey I know you from your blog.
You were behind us in line at Modern too. The line was crazy long at Mike's. I tried the panetonne cake and it was different but really good.
Feels like that was the last nice day we've had until Mother's Day.
Hi Christi - you should have said Hi! That is too funny. I agree that was the last nice day we had for weeks - that cold was really getting me down. I wish my Jo Totes had held up better. The coloring has worn off and it needs to be replaced. I call it my antique bag.
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