Pomodoro @ North End Boston, MA

went to pomodoro with my friend last night. i had high expectations of this place not only because its high ratings but also they have my fave pasta dish fra diavolo. i think this place is impossible for walk-ins. i tried couple times before but the wait was incredible long. i called in and made a reservation this time. ->(617) 367-4348

very cramped and uncomfortable seating. our table wasnt even stable.

wine list is lame. i wanted a glass of sparkling but they were out of it.

fresh olive oil and warm bread.

mussels- average.

pomodoro’s antipasto – not bad. i did like the red peppers stuffed with tuna.

i was already full by the time i had my seafood fra diavolo. the sauce was good. generous amount of seafood. BUT the pasta itself sucked! super soggy. i hate soggy pastas. big disappointment.

zuppa di pesce – seafood stew. this was good. flavor wasn’t too strong. not super heavy.

they do not have a dessert menu, but they do have complimentary tiramisu. not the best but i wont complain. nice ending to the meal.

pomodoro is the better than a lot of restaurants in the north end, but def not on top of my list. i think i would come again and try other non pasta dishes. price is reasonable, service is friendly.

this place gets 3.5/5 bunny belly

Category: Italian
319 Hanover St
(between Bennet St & Fleet St)
Boston, MA 02113
Neighborhood: North End
(617) 367-4348

Taranta Cucina Meridionale @ North End Boston, MA

my friend stella took me to taranta for din din tonight in the north end. it’s like most of other restaurants in the north end: small, cozy, relaxed. the noise level is perfect; great for conversations. service is friendly and not rushed.

taranta is a peruvian/southern italian restaurant. i would highly recommend this place if you like really bold flavors and savory food. most of their dishes i found pretty salty, i still liked them because they were so flavorful.

their appetizers on the menu look amazing. so awesome that we order three of them.
started off with a bottle of sparklings.

CAUSA DE CANGREJO
Fresh Crab Meat, yelow Peruvian potatoes, avocado, botija olives and Aji Amarillo aioli
crab meat, potatoes, and avocado are three of my fave food !!! how can you go wrong this combo

GAMBERETTI AGLIOLIO CON BROCOLI RABE
Garlic and oil shrimps over a crostone and broccoli raab
i love everything thats soaked/dipped in soups. it was super salty but very savory. i enjoyed it a lot and i dipped my own bread into the soup jejejeje.

PAN ROASTED MUSSELS
Pan roasted fresh cultivated P.E.I. mussels with Sicilian Marsala and tossed with Pancetta Abruzzese and Balsamic roasted shallots
mussels were very flavorful with a hint of sweetness.

i had a hard time deciding on my entree. i saw the lady next to us ordered this dish and it looked pretty good. i couldnt find it on the menu so i asked the waiter. he told me it is custom made.

pappardelle pasta with shrimps in this awesome tomato sauce. again, awesome flavors. the pasta was al dente. just how i like it!

PAPPARDELLE CON FUNGHI PORCINI
Free form cut pappardelle pasta with wild mushrooms, porcini and white truffle oil
the mushrooms tasted fantastic, but overly salty.

none of us finished our entrees either because we were too full from the appetizers due to their generous portions or the saltiness of the food. i cant say enough how fantastic the flavors were, but i do wish they were a lil bit less salty.

we skipped desserts because the dessert menu didnt look too special and i already had my mind on the dipped strawberries from mike’s pastry.

thanks Stella for an awesome din din and a great night <3

this place gets 4/5 bunny belly

210 Hanover St
(between Cross St & Mechanic St)
Boston, MA 02113

(617) 720-0052

http://www.tarantarist.com

Prezza @ North End Boston, MA

i had been wanting to go to prezza for a while and i finally went tonight with two friends. i made a reservation on opentable last night for 6:30. we got there on time and were seated right away.

prezza is one of the nicer restaurants in north end. service was very pleasant, friendly, and attentive. they offer an extensive wine list, but i wasnt in the mood of drinking because i was still recovering from last weekend.

olive oil with warm bread. you can pretty much tell if the restaurant is good or not from the beginning by the bread and olive oil/butter they serve. i already started liking this place.

Grilled Wild Tiger Prawn with frisee, black olive and oregano potato salad
exactly how i expected it to be.

Seared Scallops, English peas, fava beans, spring garlic and polenta

Potato Gnocchi with rock shrimp, roasted tomato, ramps and Parmigiano cheese
i heard prezza has really good pastas, so i had to try some. this dish is well executed. it is very tasty without being too bold or overwhelming.

the steak was huge so my friends splited one. i am not a huge steak person, but this is somewhat bland.
picture is show 1/2 of the steak.

BEST PART OF MY MEAL!!
Passion Fruit crème brulee with fresh whipped cream and coconut macaroons
omg i was blown away by this passion fruit creme brulee!!! what a heavenly mix.
maybe i just love everything passion fruit but this was amazingly delish, probably one of the best desserts ive ever had!! highly recommended!!

Tiramisu “Parfait” with Kahlua and espresso
tiramisu was very yum too. very creamy and satisfying.

this place gets 4/5 bunny belly

24 Fleet St
(between Garden Ct St & Moon St)
Boston, MA 02113

(617) 227-1577

http://www.prezza.com

Desserts @ Caffé Vittoria North End Boston, MA

after din din @ Trattoria Il Panino, we went to Caffé Vittoria for some desserts.

i didnt like the atmosphere. the old decor make this place look unclean. food is mediocre but very cheap so the quality justifies its price. can’t complain.

i do not think i will return because both of the place itself and the food do not look appealing and clean.
i didnt feel comfortable at all.

this place gets 2/5 bunny belly.

296 Hanover St
(between Wesley Pl & Lathrop Pl)
Boston, MA 02113
(617) 227-7606

http://www.vittoriacaffe.com

Trattoria Il Panino @ North End Boston, MA

two friends and i were planning to go to neptune for dinner after work today, but the wait was 2 hours. surprise surprise.

one of my friends recommended Trattoria Il Panino, so we headed there after an hour waiting for neptune.
guess what, no reservation, no waiting in line. we got a table as soon as we walked in. there were plenty of tables available.

cold bread w/ olive oil. the olive oil wasnt fresh. you could hardly taste the olive. oh well im being harsh.

Risotto w/ fish and calamari.

PACCHERI AI FRUTTI DI MARE
Neapolitan pasta with assorted shellfish
i think this is a popular dish at this restaurant. best of all three.

FETTUCINE AL PESTO
Fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts & parmigiano
ok. this failed miserably. worst! ever! had! pork belly even makes better pesto than this.
so bland. how can pesto be so bland!? where’s the garlic, pine nuts?! i didnt taste them at all.
and im not a big fan of fettucine so that didnt help either.

the portions are very generous, but the food is lacking strong features and distinctive flavors. it is not expensive, but with the same price tag you can get wayyyy better food at restaurants like basta pasta trattoria.

this place

11 Parmenter St
(between Hanover St & Richmond St)
Boston, MA 02113
(617) 720-1336

http://www.trattoriailpanino.com/

Worst Dinning Experience @ Giacomo’s Ristorante North End & Back Bay Boston, MA

I have had a lot of bizarre dinning experience, but this place is ABSOLUTE A DISASTER!!! Definitely THE WORST dinning experience I have ever had.
pork belly and i went there for dinner last fall. We were really looking forward to it because of the good reviews on yelp. We got there around 7:30pm. There was a line outside of the restaurant. We waited in line for 30 mins to just to talk to the host and have our names down. The host, JOHN, told us it would be1.5 hours to 2 hours wait. We were a little surprised since we already waited 30 mins in line. However, since we already had our minds set on this place, we agreed to wait for another 1.5 to 2 hours. The host told us there is a bar next door. We went to the bar that the host mentioned, there were no seats, so we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. After 1 hour+ walk, we went back to the restaurant and the host, JOHN, told us that he was looking for us 45 mins ago. We said you told us the wait was gonna be 1.5 to 2 hours. Then, he said very IMPATIENTLY that there is nothing he could do for us, we have to wait again and there were 3 people that were in front of us. I told him it was not our fault that we were not there when he called our name because he just told us the wait was 1.5 hrs to 2 hrs. I wouldn’t expect him to call our name after 15 mins if he told us the wait was 1.5 hrs to 2 hrs. I was explaining to the host, JOHN, but he wouldn’t listen and just walked away. When I was trying to get his attention again, he said you are welcomed to leave, you do not have to stay. OMG, how rude was that. We already waited for an hour and half, so why the heck would I want to leave. Then, I was trying to talk to him again, THE MOST UNBELIEVABLE THING CAME OUT OF HIS MOUTH, he said, WE DO NOT LIKE YOU, YOU CAN LEAVE NOW! I couldn’t believe my ears, I have not had anybody told me to leave the restaurant ever especially it was their fault. How rude was that?! I was very very mad. I know this place is popular, I get it, but nobody should ever treat their customers like this. He was the rudest staff I have ever encountered. We wasted almost 2 hours waiting. It was almost 10pm and we were hungry and the host just told us to leave after almost 2 hours wait. I am so surprised that this place is still in business. No matter how good your food is, THE ATTITUDE AND THE BEHAVIOR JOHN DEMONSTRATED IS ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE. Dinning is NOT only about food; it is about the entire experience.
The valet guy was extremely nice though. He witnessed our entire experience and he felt very sorry for us. He wouldn’t take money from us for parking, but it was not his fault so we had to put money in his pocket at the end.
We left the restaurant extremely angry and humiliated. I do not know how they still managed to stay in business with TERRIBLE SERVICE like this; I had to assume that the food must taste like it’s from heaven right? Out of curiosity, we went to the north end location the second day. We waited about an hour in line. No complains since we got a seat after standing in the cold for an hour. the waitress was talking to us while still chewing food in her mouth. i guess we cant complain huh since we should be thankful that we were even seated. We ordered calamari, mozzarella marinara, mussels, lobster ravioli, swordfish pasta. The food was definitely below average.
COLD BREAD- big turnoff. what kinda restaurant serves cold bread?!
Mozzarella marinara- it seemed like it was cooked 5 hours ago. wasn’t cheesy, very hard. wasnt even that warm.

Mussels with red sauce- sandy, wasn’t fresh at all. Good thing I didn’t get diarrhea.

calamari – no way you can mess this up

Lobster ravioli- creamy, but couldn’t tell it was lobster inside. Very salty.

Pesto swordfish pasta – the worst of all, absolutely tasteless, pasta wasn’t chewy at all.
not pictured.jpg

They only offered cheap wine.

Conclusion:
THIS IS DEFINITELY A TOURIST PLACE. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR CHEAP ITALIAN FOOD, LONG WAITS IN THE COLD WEATHER, THE WORST SERVICE ON EARTH WITH THE RUDEST HOST, THIS IS THE PLACE TO GO. OTHERWISE YOU WILL REGRET EVERY SECOND AND EVERY PENNY YOU SPEND AT THIS PLACE. PLEASE AVOID THIS PLACE AND RUN AS FAR AS YOU CAN!
ONCE AGAIN! THE ATTITUDE AND THE BEHAVIOR AND SERVICE JOHN DEMONSTRATED IS ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE. THEY FAILED TERRIBLY AS A RESTAURANT IN EVERY ASPECT.

this place gets -100000000000000000/5 bunny belly

sorry i do not want to provide their address.

Cannoli and Dipped Strawberries @ Mike’s Pastry North End Boston, MA

the bff and i headed down to mike’s pastry on hangover st to get some desserts after neptune. mike’s pastry is all hype. this is definitely a tourist spot, but it is cheap. not amazing or i would travel all the way to the north end to get some of their pastries, but it’s somewhat decent for the price and a quick fix after eating at north end restaurants.

their pastries def do NOT look appetizing and appealing, but they do taste better than they look. a lot of better. i usually get the dipped strawberries and maybe tiramisu. the pastries are huge. the dipped strawberries are huge and only a dollar for one. we were gonna get a dozen but they only had 5 left. we also got two cannoli and the bff got tiramisu. i never tried their gelato cuz they look excessively colored.

pistachio cannoli

strawberry cannoli

cash only!

this place gets 3.5/5 bunny belly!

300 Hanover St
(between Wesley Pl & Lathrop Pl)
Boston, MA 02113

Lobster Roll @ Neptune Oyster North End Boston, MA

to celebrate the first day the bff can finally eat meat, i took her to neptune oyster to get some lobster roll.
i freaking hate north end restaurants. 95% of them are all tourist traps. i wonder what do ppl on yelp eat all day, mcdonald’s!? i also had my worst worst worst dinning experience @ one of the north end restaurants.

neptune does not take reservations and it is always a long wait. we walked in and the host took our name and phone number down and told us it would be an hour wait and she ll call us when the table is ready.

while waiting, we went to get some gelato. the girl recommended the tiramisu flavor. horrrrible man. one of the worst ive ever had. freaking costs $5 bux and we had like two bites and then straight to trash.

only about 20 minutes passed by, i got a call from neptune so we headed back to neptune. we got seated at the bar. the place is tiny and cramped.

my view:

crab claws.

i hate oyster and i have said that 100000 times already. the bff wasnt a big fan but she decided to try it since they are known for good oysters. she ordered one:

after she had the first one, she immediately fell in love. she said it’s really fresh and not one bit of fishyness. the taste of ocean. she almost convinced me to have one. after struggling, i still said no. then she wanted another one in a diff kind:

for app: yellowfin tuna with avocado spread, iggy’s baguette, citrus aioli, ginger. man it was delishhhhh!!! tuna + avocado are my two fave things on earth = what a deadly combo!! its a bit pricey though. it’s tiny and the price tag was $17 (man now i wish i won the mega mil)

i cant help to post a closer pic. sowwie

here comes the hot lobster roll with butter! this was delish as well. i def like it better than b&g oyster’s BLT lobster. fries were way better than b&g oyster’s too!! so satisfying!!!

a closer shot

we def enjoyed our meal and the bff def loved it. she told me like 20 times how she loved the lobster roll and the oysters. shes’s a little exaggerating since she didnt have meat for a month. pretty much everything would make her happy lol. i wanna try everything; i will take pork belly here as soon as he’s in town.

this place gets 4.5/5 bunny belly

63 Salem St
(between Cross St & Morton St)
Boston, MA 02113

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