Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
town house overlooking North Square and the Paul Revere House, the best restaurant
in the North End offers innovative cuisine in a sophisticated yet comfortable setting.
The menu changes seasonally. Start with excellent soup, risotto, or a pasta special. The
superb entrees are unlike anything else in this neighborhood, except in size—portions
are more than generous. Fork-tender
osso buco,
a limited-quantity nightly special, is
almost enough for two, but you'll want it all for yourself. You can't go wrong with
main-course pastas, either, and the steaks, chops, and fresh seafood specials, all with
creative accompaniments (say, local cod with Maine shrimp, calamari, and risotto), are
uniformly marvelous. The pasta, bread, and desserts are homemade, and the wine list
is excellent.
3 North Sq.
&
617/523-0077.
www.mammamaria.com. Reservations recommended. Main courses $26-$40. AE, DC,
DISC, MC, V. Sun-Thurs 5-9:30pm; Fri-Sat 5-10:30pm. Valet parking available. T: Green or Orange Line to Haymarket.
Taranta Cucina Meridionale
SOUTHERN ITALIAN/PERUVIAN This
unlikely-sounding combination is actually a kick-yourself-for-not-thinking-of-it great
idea. Chef-owner Jose Duarte's creations incorporate the flavors of his native Peru,
ingredients (notably peppers) you won't see on other Boston menus, and classic Ital-
ian preparations. The dining room is a typical upscale North End space, with exposed-
brick walls, an open kitchen, and tables just a bit too close together. Servers are friendly
and eager to explain the unusual cuisine. The risk-averse can opt for pasta with tomato
sauce—a good rendition, but not the reason to come here. Pasta in garlic-white wine
sauce with
aji amarillo
pepper-spiced sausage; salmon in a macadamia crust with
pisco-Incan goldenberry sauce; and espresso-crusted filet mignon are the sort of
dishes that make Taranta a standout. The signature dish is a Flintstone-esque pork
chop with a sweet-hot glaze of sugar cane and
rocoto
pepper; it's not unusual to see
everyone at a table of businessmen who appear to be retired NFL linemen ordering it.
Desserts are as accomplished as the rest of the food, so try to save some room.
210 Hanover St.
&
617/720-0052.
www.tarantarist.com. Reservations recommended. Main courses $18-$34. AE,
DC, MC, V. Daily 5:30-10pm. T: Green or Orange Line to Haymarket.
EXPENSIVE
Daily Catch
SOUTHERN ITALIAN/SEAFOOD About the size of a large
kitchen (it seats just 20), this storefront restaurant packs a wallop—of garlic. A North
End favorite since 1973, it offers excellent food, chummy service, and very little elbow
room. The surprisingly varied menu includes an impressive variety of calamari (try it
fried, in squid-ink pasta puttanesca, or stuffed with bread crumbs, parsley, and garlic)
and a tempting selection of broiled, fried, and sautéed fish and shellfish. One of the
pickiest eaters I know comes here from New York just for the monkfish Marsala. All
food is prepared to order, and some dishes arrive at the table still in the frying pan.
This is the original Daily Catch. The
Harborwalk
branch, at the Moakley Federal
Courthouse, 2 Northern Ave., on the South Boston waterfront (
&
617/772-4402;
T: Silver Line to Courthouse), is open Monday through Thursday 11am to 10pm, Fri-
day until 11pm, and weekends 4 to 10pm, and accepts credit cards (AE, MC, V).
323 Hanover St.
&
617/523-8567.
www.dailycatch.com. Reservations not accepted. Main courses $17-$27. No
credit cards. Sun-Thurs 11:30am-10pm; Fri-Sat 11:30am-11pm. T: Green or Orange Line to Haymarket.
Neptune Oyster
SEAFOOD Tiny and cramped, with a red-leather banquette
and a marble-topped bar down either side of a narrow room, Neptune feels like one
of those off-the-radar places out-of-towners fantasize about—or it would, if it weren't
so crowded. Super-fresh, inventively prepared seafood keeps this restaurant busy and
