Another Boston Restaurant Guide, pt. 2
Just three features this time. Part 1, including more general thoughts on what I look for in a restaurant, is here.
Mamma Maria, North End
The North End on a Saturday night is as close to Times Square as it gets in Boston. I used to think this only applied during the summer, but my recent off-season experiences proved me wrong. Ubers clog the narrow streets, throngs of cannoli-eating tourists line the sidewalks, flocks of young women in search of the perfectly instagrammable penne alla vodka (I am one of them) weave between stopped cars, Mike’s Pastry boxes overflow the trash bins, and don’t even get me started on what happens when the Celtics or Bruins are playing and well-meaning but clueless families from New Hampshire join the mix.
Add the fact that the majority of the food in the North End is mediocre at best, and you begin to wonder why you would bother going in the first place. The answer is found at Mamma Maria (dinner at Carmelina’s, pizza at Ernesto’s, the Italian sub at Salumeria Italiana, and the cannoli at Mike’s are other possible answers). A daytime coffee at Caffe Vittoria is also very pleasant, although make sure to clear out before nightfall, when LBD-wearing patrons queue at the door, foaming at the mouth for espresso martinis.
On to Mamma Maria. Located in a historic townhouse overlooking the oldest public square in the US (North Square), the location in itself is a reason to visit. Mamma Maria stretches over two floors and features five dining rooms, but each is small enough to make it feel as though you are dining in a quaint townhome. In the winter it is especially cozy and romantic. We have been for ticketed dinners on New Year’s Eve and on Valentine’s Day, and both were lovely. However, the summer is when Mamma Maria comes alive with its glorious patio, right on the North Square cobblestones. It must be one of the best outdoor dining experiences in the city, and certainly the best if you are a US history aficionado - you can sip your negroni with a view of Paul Revere’s house.
The occasion: Date night, parents visiting, special meal with a friend.
To order: Beef carpaccio; baked oysters; burrata al tartuffo (I do not order burrata just for the sake of it, this burrata is really quite good and some of the best I’ve had outside Italy); pasta con sugo (with handmade tagliatelle and meat ragu); Maine lobster agnolotti; and the star of the show, the Osso Buco. Although don’t eat the Osso Buco before a game, or you will doze off at the TD Garden (we learned this the hard way).
Toro, South End
Toro is the cool girl of restaurants. She’s fun (moody lighting, close knit tables, a-little-too-loud music); a nick off the beaten path (further into the South End than non-foodie tourists venture); has a group of similarly cool (but not quite) friends - Bar Pallino, Coppa, etc. - and, most importantly, she’s got the chops to back it all up - exciting and excellent food, which keeps reservations competitive even after 20 years in business.
Toro is owned by acclaimed Boston chef and restaurateur Ken Oringer, who holds a James Beard award for Best Chef Northeast. Oringer formerly partnered with Jamie Bissonnette (also Best Chef Northeast) under the title “JK Food Group” until the two split up last year. Oringer now solely owns and operates the roster of popular restaurants the pair built together, of which Toro is the star. While Little Donkey may appeal to the Allbirds-to-dinner Cambridge crowd, Faccia a Faccia the Newbury Street crowd (aka Seaport residents who courageously left their millennial-gray enclave for a Back Bay IG pic), and Coppa maintains its position as an above-average (if only slightly) neighborhood Italian joint, Toro is where the real food happens.
The occasion: Dinner with friends, date night, walk in and sit at the bar (get there early before it fills up).
To order: It’s all meant for sharing, from small snacks at the top of the menu to larger plates at the bottom. Start with jamón and manchego, followed by pintxos like queso de tetilla (soft cow’s milk cheese, red pepper jam) and txistorra y padron (chorizo, shishito pepper). Next are small tapas, of which boquerones and pan con tomate are favorites. Order to your liking from the larger tapas, but I can confirm the croquetas de bacalao (salt cod croquettes), ostra (oyster with trout roe, pumpkin chutney, and sage butter), pimientos (shishito peppers), empanada (braised lamb, potato, harissa yogurt), and filete a la plantxa (hanger steak, broccolini, sherry peppercorn sauce) are all worth your time. I can’t not mention the Paella Valenciana (with shrimp, mussels, clams, chorizo, and chicken), which I have regrettably never had but is top of the list for my next visit. It requires a 30 minute wait time, but looks like a showstopper. The churros are excellent.
Taqueria Jalisco, East Boston
Taqueria Jalisco serves the best tacos I’ve eaten in Boston, by a very long shot. That being said, I have lived in predominantly white neighborhoods, and it may not come as a shock that Beacon Hill, Back Bay, and Charlestown aren’t known for Mexican food. Under-seasoned “bistro fare”, however - we have plenty of that.
Taqueria Jalisco is deeper into East Boston than non-residents typically venture, but it is a surprisingly easy journey on the T (once you get to the Blue Line, and good luck with that). From Bowdoin it’s only five stops to Airport, and then a 10 minute walk to Jalisco. It is counter-service and seating is limited, but we’ve been lucky each time. Chef-Owner Ramiro Gonzalez opened Jalisco in 2001 and it has been part of the fabric of the neighborhood ever since. Gonzalez had an early education in good food in California, where his parents owned a Mexican food truck, and has continued the good food tradition at Jalisco.
The occasion: Weekend lunch, casual date night (followed by drinks at The Quiet Few), solo meal at the counter.
To order: Tacos - birria (very popular here); adobada (marinated meat in adobo sauce), and carnitas tacos, all served in griddled corn tortillas with cilantro and onion. The torta and enchiladas are on the agenda for my next visit. I have also heard great things about the pozole (a traditional Mexican soup with hominy and meat). Finally, I must mention Jalisco’s offering of cabeza (beef head) and de lengua (beef tongue) tacos, which are traditional (and from what I experienced in Mexico City, delicious) fillings.
all three great Boston classics (I should revisit all three it has been a while!)