Good Eats in the North End

[jlally]

This SF Chowhound is coming to Boston on business in early December. I understand I should be able to get a great Italian dinner in Boston's North End - Got any tips? Where to go, who does what really well?
Thanks in Advance!

[Rubee]

Hey - give us more specifics. :)

A random Chowhound search on "North End"

http://tinyurl.com/yjpe8d

[fenian]

caffe paradiso for espresso and chatting, pizzeria regina for pizza, umberto galleria for pizza and stuff at lunch, neptune oyster for seafood, mike's/modern'/maria's for pastries, salumeria italiana for olives/mozzarella/basic chow.

[Bob Dobalina]

There are no horrible places - but be careful - because there is an infusion of nouveau Italian that may or may not jive with your desires. (Don't want your Momma freaking out because there was not a single tomato sauce-d item on the menu, i.e., the now-closed Marcuccio's)

Mike's is a tourist trap - go over to Modern - the best sfoggliatelle in my opinion...Maria's wins for the pignoli nut cookies...or head to Bova's after midnight for local flavor.

A good rule of thumb is to stay away from the dinner places on Hanover Street - the more out-of-the-way places tend to be better quality, but not always.

[tatamagouche]

I agree about Mike's, not so much about Hanover--it's no different than Salem St. or Prince St. or any North End St., IMO--some places are worthwhile, some aren't. If you want to do the quaint thing, try Daily Catch, Maurizio's, or Limoncello (or Regina for pizza, agreed); if you want to go modern, try Neptune Oyster, Taranta, or Lucca.

[Pegmeister]

I use to think that there weren't any horrible places in the North End until I went to Ida's! There sauce was really acidic and even though there was only one other table with diners when we ordered, it took an hour to get our food! They told us it was because they were cooking fresh pasta!!!!!!
On Salem Street I've been singing the praises of LaGalleria 33 lately. They have an incredible mix grill and I really enjoyed the lobster raviolis. Since they are yet undiscovered you can pretty much always get a table. For seafood, I go to Neptune Oyster and to Antico Forno for pumpkin raviolis or rigatoni with sausage. Eclano's offers a menu that is a little different from most of the North End restaurants, and they have a terrific rabbit sausage. Also the tables are really comfortably spaced.

[fenian]

I had a horrible dinner at Piccola Venezia. For instance, there were pieces of plastic in the cod, which was not defrosted enough.

[Bostonbob3]

Sorry to laugh, Fenian, but that's kind of funny (unless it happened to me, naturally).

Mmmm, plastic.

Frankly, I don't think there should be pieces of plastic in cod no matter how badly it's been defrosted.

[hiddenboston]

Plastic?<gasp> Egads. Ok, I won't be going there anytime soon.

Maybe the Cod had been caught in a 6-pack holder when they caught it?

[lorpa]

Bricco is one of my favorites for delicious, gourmet Italian cuisine. It remains outstanding even though the great chef, Maria Iosco, left several months ago. Their sister restaurant around the corner, called Mare, is one of the best gourmet seafood restaurants in Boston. Terramia is another excellent restaurant. Also Lucca. Rabia's is a good value with good food and reasonable prices.

[Pegmeister]

Oh No!! I recommended Piccola's for your group. Maybe you want to try the Waterfront!! Although 20 people may be stretching it. As for Piccola's I've been happy enough with my meals there but I may be slightly prejudice since I like the staff so much!!

[hiddenboston]

I think it'll depend on how much I like this group of people. ;-) Perhaps I'll look at Antico Forno after all! If it's a small group, maybe I'll hit the Waterfront...