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North End

Cannoli Frenzy!

Mike’s Pastry cannoli

Whenever I end up in the North End, I always try to grab a meal and dessert. It’s hard to be hungry after a huge Italian meal but I just have to always have that extra cannoli. Usually, I’ll stop by Mike’s Pastries and grab their chocolate coated cannoli but sometimes the line is out the door and around the corner!

So after trying a couple other places, the roommate and I decided to have a taste test of our two favorite pastry shops, Modern Pastry and Mike’s Pastry.

And our verdict? You can’t go wrong with either one :P

Mike’s cannoli is slightly larger but you do pay a little more for it, but other than that, I’d go for whichever line is shorter!

Modern Pastry cannoli

Mamma Maria – North End

I know this may be horrific, but I actually never physically went to the North End in the 5-6 years I’ve lived in the Greater Boston area. And frankly, I’m hating myself for it. I’d heard about many delicious places and of the heavenly cannoli at Mike’s Pastries (Separate post coming!) but I have no idea why I never got off my lazy backside to visit.

Anyway, I met a few friends for dinner in the North End at their insistence and figured that this would be a great opportunity to test the waters. One of my coworkers suggested that I try out Mamma Maria so with that handy information, we strode boldly through the doors without even looking at the menu!

The restaurant itself is located right off of Hannover Street, the main thoroughfare in the North End. It’s build into a multistory building where each floor has seating in a house-like decor, which was very pretty. Initially, the building feels a little cramped (there’s not much in the way of waiting space) but once we got upstairs, the restaurant opened right up.

They served us some fresh bread with olives and a pesto spread, which were excellent while we waited in eager anticipation for the main course. And when it arrived, I couldn’t be more surprised with how excellent the meal was. It’s on the expensive side, for sure, but I guess I didn’t know quite what to expect! Pictures below!

Sorry about the blurriness, it was a little dark and couldn’t get great pictures :(

The restaurant itself! Early afternoon

Hand Stuffed lobster ravioli:

Sea Bass w/ veggies:

Seafood Pasta (Cod, scallops, mussels, clams, shrimp in a spicy red sauce):