Best foccacia in the North End?

[peelmeagrape]

Which bakery bakes the best foccacia in the North End? I'm specifically interested in bakeries where I can buy it to bring home, as opposed to sit-down restaurants that serve it. Thanks for your ideas.

[Jenny Ondioline]

I think part of the issue may be simply that foccacia is relatively simple to prepare (you can make an entirely credible foccacia in about 90 minutes, mixer to table), and a lot of people who otherwise rarely bother to make their own bread -- myself included -- don't mind making their own when the mood hits.

[Spike]

Ditto this...I've done a few and it's pretty trivial and always tastes good because of all the olive oil :-)

[retrofabulousity]

Did you end up finding anything?

Thanks

[peelmeagrape]

Not yet. I'm really surprised that none of the bakeries in the North End seems to bake it - there are certainly a good number of bakeries in the neighborhood, even ones that specialize in bread, and judging by how commonly it appears in local restaurants, it seems to be popular. I had imagined that the 'hounds would have some favorites. I'm not in any particular hurry though, it's just something I've been wondering about.

[9lives]

I don't think the NE has any great bread bakeries.

Going back 10 ish years, Salumeria Italiana used to get bread shipped from NY.

In he NE, there's Bova, Parziale's and a few more...doing nothing special.

Most of the best bread comes from Iggy's, Clear Flour, Pain D'Avignon, etc..which didn't exist until relatively recently,in the big scheme of things.

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Salumeria Italiana
151 Richmond St, Boston, MA 02109

Bova's
134 Salem St, Boston, MA

[retrofabulousity]

Thanks; do you know who supplies most of the places there with bread then?

How long ago did the bakeries you mention start?

[9lives]

I don't think there's a single bakery that supplies the NE' s better places.

The bakeries like Bova, Parziales have been there for many years, but some time between 10 and 20 tears ago, Boston developed it's own high end bakery scene... and the quality is far better.

Old NE offerings....think white bread/ moderately tan crust.
New NE offerings.....full gamut of the area's best bakers.

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Bova's
134 Salem St, Boston, MA

[retrofabulousity]

Thanks...so if I understand you correctly, the old guys there (and probably also Medford) make the scali bread they all seem to favor? Are Bova and Parziale the only bread bakeries in the NE?

The better Italian restaurants source from Iggy's and Clear Flour predominantly then?

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Bova's
134 Salem St, Boston, MA

[bella_sarda]

Not sure about restaurant sourcing, but Clear Flour makes some excellent focaccia. Iggy's is decent too.

[retrofabulousity]

Thanks are those basically the only 2 places anyone goes for high quality Italian breads in the area?

[peelmeagrape]

There's Boschetto's bakery too. (Meant this as a response to retrofabulousity's question about whether Parziale's and Bova's are the only 2 bread bakeries in the NE.)

[retrofabulousity]

How do the 3 of these compare to each other? Are there any other Italian bakeries outside the NE doing anything decent anywhere which aren't super sugary sweets and bad bread etc.?

[retrofabulousity]

Anyone?

[Allstonian]

Quinzani's Bakery may be a NE supplier:
http://www.quinzanisbakery.com/index....

They do make focaccia, but don't have any retail operation.

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Quinzani's Bakery
380 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118

[9lives]

I'm not aware of any bakery in the NE that bakes their own focaccio.

Salumeria Italiana sells focaccio that I think is baked by Iggy's.

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Salumeria Italiana
151 Richmond St, Boston, MA 02109

[retrofabulousity]

Any other ideas on who makes good focaccia regardless of location in the area? Also, good rustic loaves besides Clear Flour? Most of what Iggy's does is sourdough which I don't like at all.

Thanks!

[9lives]

The focaccio at Salumeria isn't sourdough (which I don't care for either) so it should be a viable option.

Casa Razdora on Water St in the FD sells sandwiches made on focaccio that are very good. They sell sauce/pasta..maybe focacchio..don't know if they bake it in house.

Not a big fan of rustic breads; maybe others can help.

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Casa Razdora
115 Water St, Boston, MA 02109

[retrofabulousity]

Yes....focaccia can't be sourdough by definition; it is one of the few non-sourdough things Iggy's makes actually.

I was looking for other options though...thanks for the other mention though I doubt they make their own bread from the looks of it.

As long as we are on the topic, how about other breads like the rosetta, the Roman panino bread par excellence?

[southie_chick]

As for Casa Razdora, I think I remember Bobby (one of the owners) telling me that they made the focaccia in house.

[9lives]

Southie, Pretty sure it was you that introduced me to the focacchio sandwiches ...fantastic.

This place is a true treasure; putting out daily specials at <$10 that would sell at $20+ in the NE. These guys are putting out a great product.

[southie_chick]

Yup 9, that was me! : ) I'll have to keep an eye out for ya next time I'm there! (I'll be the one with the Universal Studios baseball cap, which is my "cap du jour" since I'll be going there shortly!)
Hope you tried the stuffed pepper special - LOVE it!!!

[9lives]

I'll put the stuffed pepper on my list. I've had their lasagna, meatballs and plenty of Italian cold cuts. I've been impressed with everything I've had.