147072 Sun Feb 08 17:54:20 -0800 2004 7 12 Boston Area 0 788276 Husband and I going to Boston for Valentine's weekend. Sat. nite will probably be Legal Sea Foods, but need a place for Sun. nite. How about Antico Forno on Salem? I've heard a lot of good things. We don't need fancy, just a good house wine and some good food. Any thoughts or suggestions? Keep in mind a lot of the better places are closed on Sunday or else we would go to Les Zygomates. P.S. Will be staying at the Long Wharf, so the North End is walkable. Thanks so much to all! Sun Feb 08 17:54:20 -0800 2004 0 shopgirl 1 788277 I was just at Antico Forno a few weeks ago. The food was very good, I especially enjoyed the pizza margherita and chicken saltimbocca. Sun Feb 08 18:05:42 -0800 2004 788276 0 TrishUntrapped 1 788278 I was just at Antico Forno this week with a couple of friends. Really enjoyed it. The room is very cozy. But not everything was perfect. We started with baby octopus in a tomato sauce. That was great; very tender, and the dish picked up a bit of smokiness from the brick oven. We had the Margerita pizza. I was not wowed by it. The crust was soft, almost limp; I prefer it firmer, almost crunchy. Given that it was straight out of the brick oven, I was disappointed. For the entrees, one of us had the puttanesca with calamari -- great dish -- calamari rings were tender and the sauce was great. My other friend had the rice and cheese (almost risotto like) with meatballs and peas. Very tasty, but very rich. I had the leg of lamb with canneloni beans. The lamb was very tender (but the lamb was already cut up into small bite size pieces). All that, plus 5 glasses of Chianti (by the glass) and tax and tip was $120. In the past, I've had the seafood pasta (frutti de mare) in parchment paper. Excellent and highly recommended. One thing to note is that the entree portions are not huge (especially my lamb and my friend's rice -- the pasta was a bit more generous). Overall, a very solid place -- with good quality to value ratio. The only concern is whether they will have a jacked-up in price Valentine's Day menu. Sun Feb 08 18:50:43 -0800 2004 788276 0 Bostonsooner 2 788279 I agree about the lamb dish, not their strength. As for the pizza, I have read other threads where some folks loved it, others didn't. I fall into the love it category. The crust tastes like fresh bread, the sauce is light and made with fresh cherry tomatoes, and the cheese is fresh buffalo mozzarella. Like other wood fired oven pizzas, its best eaten hot rather than after sitting around awhile. This pizza was quite different and notches above the usual stuff we have here in Connecticut (excepting a few special Apizzas). Would love to know of other North End places that make an ethereal pie so we can try some on our next visit. Sun Feb 08 19:26:31 -0800 2004 788278 0 TrishUntrapped 3 788352 I love this little place! Food is awesome, waitstaff is great and dinner for 2 with wine is 40-50bucks Tue Feb 10 14:35:18 -0800 2004 788279 0 Mike 2 788281 Had their pizza a long while ago, was awesome for something like 3 mins, got soggy very quickly. In my (one) case, it can be a very good pie, just had to down it very quickly. Overall, I like the place too, would recommend it on any ordinary day; not sure about Valentine's day though. Sun Feb 08 20:10:41 -0800 2004 788278 0 Limster 3 788283 That's why we're going Sunday! (Valentine's Day is Saturday)...thanks for your review! Sun Feb 08 21:44:58 -0800 2004 788281 0 shopgirl 1 788304 Have been going there specifically for their rabbit dishes - yum. Attended a wonderful roast suckling pig bash there as well this past year. Great, toothsome gnocchi. Very comforting food on a chilly day. Call & ask what's on the menu w/spec'ls for Sunday. Mon Feb 09 10:57:10 -0800 2004 788276 0 Taralli