| Freshly Shucked Oysters (1/2 doz.) | 16.50 |
Large order of calamari $19.50
MOZZARELLA CAPRESE
Imported bufalo mozzarella, backyard tomatoes & basil
14.95
SHRIMP AL LIMONCELLO
Jumbo shrimp, garlic & oil, scented with limoncello
14.95
Gnocchi al Forno 19
Handmade potato gnocchi baked with plum tomato sauce, parmigiano and fresh ricotta
A selection of amazing gelatos
a cup of coconut and apricot gelato
Foodapalooza was an idea of my friend Lina, a visionaire who after reading one of my blog postings , came up with the idea of doing a food crawl (same premise as a pub crawl, 1 dish in each restaurant). But this idea wasn't just to have a food crawl anywhere, but in Boston's famous Italian neighborhood the North End. Now to know me is know how much i LOVE Italian cuisine (well most of it anyway) so i immediately loved the idea and said "I am in and this needs to happen."
Summer time in the North End is so great, there is always a good sized crowd so everywhere is lively and it makes people watching all the more enjoyable.
We started our day in the famous Union Oyster House having what else….freshly shucked raw oysters.
I love fried oysters and order them a lot, but don't get the chance to have raw oysters too often, so when Lina suggested we start at Union Oyster house for raw oysters, i was excited. They were delicious, and fresh. They were beautifully presented and came with lemon, tabasco sauce, cocktail sauce and black pepper. I tried each oyster a different way to real explore which combination i liked best, overall i think just a lil amount of lemon was the best. They had such a great natural flavor and the lemon juice was a subtle addition.
From there we sauntered over to the North End and waited in line for The Daily Catch. This was by far the longest wait we had all night, as the restaurant is very popular and not very big. We waited a little more than an hour and after i tasted the first bite of calamari, i would have waited even longer (it helps to have great company with you like i did). This was hands down the best thing i ate all night and is easily the best calamari i have ever tried. Super fresh, amazing flavor, the batter is light and not overly fried. I found myself eating more and more without even dipping it in the cocktail sauce. I recommend this to anyone. The wait staff and chef are friendly and will interact with their customers while they dine.
From here we went to Trattoria Il Panino, for their stuffed artichokes….one slight problem they took them off their menu a year ago. A small disappointment but our team leader made a good decision and we ordered a couple of appetizers, the caprese mozzarella and the shrimp al limoncello. The shrimp was lovely and cooked perfectly , the sauce was nice and light with light limoncello flavor. But the mozzarella caprese was my favorite, presented perfectly with a mix of orange and red tomatoes , a generous portion of fresh mozzarella and the fresh basil brought it all together nicely. This is a restaurant i have dined at several time and i have to say i was never disappointed, they serve their entrees in the pan they are cooked in so everything is hot and you don't lose any of the great flavors the dishes are cooked in.
Our last entree for the night was at Cantina Italiano, the gnocchi. Wow were these amazing, cooked perfectly, very generous portions, with the right amount of sauce and cheese. I love the taste of tomato sauce but i like it to be an accompaniment to the freshly made pasta. I want the pasta to be the star of the show, and that is exactly how they serve it at Cantina Italiana. Each gnocchi was plump and flavorful i can't wait to go back to order these again.
Because it was a warm Summer evening and we were all feeling a little full from our amazing dishes we decided to get a nice cool gelato to polish off the evening. I confess i don't have the name of the stand we went too, but the North End has no shortage of gelato stands. Gelato has a nice rich creamy flavor and a similar texture to a sherbert/frozen yogurt combo. The flavors are vast and unique, i couldn't resist getting a little bit of two (coconut and apricot). I couldn't have been happier with my choices but i can't help feel i need to go back and try a couple of other just to make sure i didn't miss out on something special ;-)
All in all , we had a wonderful time. The north end is a great place to have some amazing food, and i would recommend to anyone they do their own version of Foodapalooza and try a little bit in a few different places so you can discover some hidden treasures you may not have known about. If you need someone to go with you, just say the word and i'll be there.
have a great night and an even better meal.
Kevin B.
http://www.unionoysterhouse.com/pages/menus_unionbar.html
http://thedailycatch.com/menus
http://www.trattoriailpanino.com/content/menu.html
http://www.cantinaitaliana.com/dinner-menu.php
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