Good Times: The North End

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The North End

After soaking our barkin' dogs in the tub, Jim and I retraced our steps along the Freedom Trail and returned to the North End for dinner on Sunday night. The North End was the place to be that night; the streets were crowded with locals and visitors alike. Unfortunately for us, many of those people happened to be dining at the same restaurant as we were, meaning that we were forced to wait in a long line outside of Giacomo's. Thankfully, the wait went by quickly and we were soon seated inside.

A delicious Italian meal and two very full bellies later, we left Giacomo's and headed across the street to Mike's Pastry to wait in another line! This line moved much more quickly than the last, and it was all worth it in the end when we received our very own box filled with all sorts of cannoli goodness. From the moment we arrived in Boston, we spotted people carrying string-wrapped boxes labeled with Mike's Pastry. We had heard from friends that we should include a stop at Mike's Pastry on our itinerary, but we had no idea that it was so popular! After sampling a few of Mike's cannolis, I can now understand the pandemonium that we faced when we entered the bakery! We got caught up in the excitement of the moment and ordered not 2, but 4 cannolis to take back to our refrigerator-less hotel room (And remember, our bellies were still full from dinner!). We ate what we could that night, and sadly, the rest went to waste. I enjoyed one particular cannoli so much that I just had to return to Mike's Pastry on our final day in Boston to order and eat it (even though I had already eaten far too much on the trip)!

If you or anyone you know is planning a trip to Boston soon, include a visit to Mike's Pastry on your itinerary...and bring back a few cannolis for me!