Tag: Pizza

Piattini for Pasta, Pizza, Panini, and a Pretty Patio!

As you may have noticed, we've been featuring restaurants, like Piattini Wine Cafe on Newbury Street, that have earned their place in our rotation and yours.

Update: In October a two-alarm fire that began in an art gallery above Piattini caused damage to the restaurant.

Fans, like us, are hoping for the restaurant to be up and running soon. You can check in with Piattini's site or follow them on social media. We'll help spread the word when they big reopening happens.

Piattini's scampi with sautéed shrimp, garlic, olive oil, fresh tomatoes, and white wine over linguini is one of Penny's favorite menu items.

Penny's pal Linda introduced her to Piattini years ago. While this little Back Bay gem has expanded over the years, they have not compromised on the quality of the food and the warmth of the service.

For a recent lunch, Ed chose a daily special of chicken piccata over angel hair pasta.

We mentioned to a neighbor that we were going to Piattini for lunch and she broke into a smile and began to tell us how much she enjoys the place. We hear that a lot from those who live in the area. It's good to have a few local places serving good food in a neighborhood overrun with mediocre chain restaurants.

The "Wine Cafe" in the name means that the wine list is well-matched with the food. In fact, we often order one of the house wines like the Pinot Grigio with our meals. This one was a great match for these lighter, warm weather pastas.

On a cooler day, we paired this meatball panini with a Chianti from the wine specials list.

A Nero D'Avola from the regular wine list was perfect with the Piattini bolognese with homemade fusilli.

This time of year, we often opt for a seat on the patio when there is an open table.

Well-tended flower boxes serve as buffers from the busy street. They change their look throughout the seasons. The combination of sunken patio, sheltering umbrellas, and tall greenery makes these some of our favorite sidewalk dining seats.

And we are not alone. We arrived early but before we finished lunch, every seat on the two-sided patio was filled. One table of four was having a great time passing dishes and sharing laughs and food as if at the home of an Italian Nonna.

This is the perfect patio season, so add Piattini to your seasonal bucket list!

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Shake Shack on Newbury Street

September 28, 2016
Great Ethnic Food Question on Reddit Boston (with Great Answers!)

Over on Reddit Boston, Gee10 asked, "What's your ethnic background and what's the best place in the Boston area to get your favorite food from your culture?"

A great question. And the Reddit community came through with great answers. (Also at the link to the question.)

From arepas (above) at Orinoco to soup dumplings at Dumpling Palace, we are thrilled at how many of the group's cultural favorites we have enjoyed and, in some instances, shared with our readers.

Please hop over and read the recommendations and then set out to try a few.

Here are some that we have covered that were mentioned by people from the related ethnic background.

Delicious Hurricane Supplies from Arax! We have covered the Watertown Middle Eastern markets many time, over the years.

Related Post: Boston Chowhounds Give Watertown Ethnic Markets Tips

What Food Would You Miss If You Left Boston? Penny wrote a piece for Serious Eats and that question came up after one of the comments. One answer was the Chacarero's Chilean Sandwich.

Tenoch Mexican Restaurants & Food Truck was another favorite.

Santouka Ramen was on the list. We haven't tried the Back Bay location yet, but it's on our list and we're glad to see it recommended.

Clear flour Bakery's pretzel made both the Reddit list and ours.

You'll have to wait until August to try Galleria Umberto's pizza. But it's worth the wait until they've had their vacation and for the wait in the fast moving line for your turn. (Read our tip on how to avoid that line at this link.)

Gene's Chinese Flatbread Café is also known for long lines and being worth the wait.

Sweet Cheeks was the choice of one self-proclaimed Southern Girl.

So share your background and favorite places for a taste of your past. Who cooks like the best cook in your family? Where do you go to enjoy food memories?

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Schedule

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2008-2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Boston Chowhounds Give Watertown Ethnic Markets Tips

Thanks to Friends Who Make Marmalade and Share!

July 22, 2016
Will You Get Your Galleria Umberto Fix Before or After Their July Vacation?

On a beautiful day in June, you'll want to pick up a box full of goodies from Galleria Umberto Rosticceria and have a delicious picnic on a bench overlooking the harbor.

Fans of this Boston treasure know that their official hours are short (Mon-Sat: 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.) and get even shorter as ingredients begin to run out. When the dough is gone, they shut down.

And, when we had our picnic last week, we confirmed that, as always, they are taking the month of July off. That means you need to get there in the next couple of weeks or wait until August.

Our box of take-out always has at least one slice of pizza. Here the pizza slice is a Square of Sicilian-style with a thick crust, crispy bottom, and an abundance of sauce and cheese. It's filling but surprisingly lighter than it would seem.

The calzone in the box is spinach and cheese and next to it you see a panzerotti or more specifically a panzerotti di patate which is a mashed potato croquette. As Ed said, "What could be better than mashed potatoes stuffed with cheese that you can pick up and eat out of your hand?"

This can be a lines-out-the-door place, but take a breath! Great aromas fill the air and tell you it's worth the wait.

Calzones in the warming case never stay there long. Everything is in a constant flow as food moves from the cooks in the back room into boxes for takeout, or trays for dining-in that are handed to customers.

Worth Repeating

We have told our readers about this before, but there are some things that are worth repeating.

There is a really great piece of writing over on Serious Eats about Galleria Umberto's pizza. Carey Jones wrote, "Pizza flies out from the kitchen, enormous pans appearing every three or four minutes, smacked down on the counter, slices scooped up so quickly the cheese hardly has time to ooze over the side."

Simple, old world, fresh, ready, hearty, warm describes the food and the people. If you're a regular, you may get a hug or a conversation in Italian with your order. Regulars also have cash-in-hand because this is a "cash only" establishment.

Many locals also know that you can phone ahead with your order and go to the left of the main line, pull out your cash, and pick up your order. You'll see lots of locals picking up boxes of 10, 15, or 20 slices of pizza and a stash of other goodies.

You can dine in, if you choose, and have beer or wine in a paper cup with your food. But our crowd often has dogs in tow so we do this on really nice days and we eat in the park. Part of the clan finds a bench along the harbor or a table on the Greenway or at least they stand ready to pounce on a table the moment one is free.

We keep a photo of the menu on our phones to put together our order. With decisions made and cash gathered, we make the call and tell them, "Yes we do need napkins, forks, knives, and plates." They generously add those to your order. (And they do supply ample napkins – they know their food.)

Then, one or two of you can walk down Hanover Street, pick up your feast in the much shorter pick-up line to the left of the longer line, and return to the park for an outstanding picnic by the fountains.

Galleria Umberto

289 Hanover Street, Boston, MA 02113 (map)

617-227-5709

Cash Only!

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014-2016 Penny Cherubino

Related articles

Otto Pizza, Coolidge Corner: Our First Look (At This Location)

Sicilian Slices at Boston's Galleria Umberto

Sicilian Slice Crawl in Boston

June 9, 2016
Will You Get Your Galleria Umberto Fix Before or After Their July Vacation?

On a beautiful day in June, you'll want to pick up a box full of goodies from Galleria Umberto Rosticceria and have a delicious picnic on a bench overlooking the harbor.

Fans of this Boston treasure know that their official hours are short (Mon-Sat: 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.) and get even shorter as ingredients begin to run out. When the dough is gone, they shut down.

And, when we had our picnic last week, we confirmed that, as always, they are taking the month of July off. That means you need to get there in the next couple of weeks or wait until August.

Our box of take-out always has at least one slice of pizza. Here the pizza slice is a Square of Sicilian-style with a thick crust, crispy bottom, and an abundance of sauce and cheese. It's filling but surprisingly lighter than it would seem.

The calzone in the box is spinach and cheese and next to it you see a panzerotti or more specifically a panzerotti di patate which is a mashed potato croquette. As Ed said, "What could be better than mashed potatoes stuffed with cheese that you can pick up and eat out of your hand?"

This can be a lines-out-the-door place, but take a breath! Great aromas fill the air and tell you it's worth the wait.

Calzones in the warming case never stay there long. Everything is in a constant flow as food moves from the cooks in the back room into boxes for takeout, or trays for dining-in that are handed to customers.

Worth Repeating

We have told our readers about this before, but there are some things that are worth repeating.

There is a really great piece of writing over on Serious Eats about Galleria Umberto's pizza. Carey Jones wrote, "Pizza flies out from the kitchen, enormous pans appearing every three or four minutes, smacked down on the counter, slices scooped up so quickly the cheese hardly has time to ooze over the side."

Simple, old world, fresh, ready, hearty, warm describes the food and the people. If you're a regular, you may get a hug or a conversation in Italian with your order. Regulars also have cash-in-hand because this is a "cash only" establishment.

Many locals also know that you can phone ahead with your order and go to the left of the main line, pull out your cash, and pick up your order. You'll see lots of locals picking up boxes of 10, 15, or 20 slices of pizza and a stash of other goodies.

You can dine in, if you choose, and have beer or wine in a paper cup with your food. But our crowd often has dogs in tow so we do this on really nice days and we eat in the park. Part of the clan finds a bench along the harbor or a table on the Greenway or at least they stand ready to pounce on a table the moment one is free.

We keep a photo of the menu on our phones to put together our order. With decisions made and cash gathered, we make the call and tell them, "Yes we do need napkins, forks, knives, and plates." They generously add those to your order. (And they do supply ample napkins – they know their food.)

Then, one or two of you can walk down Hanover Street, pick up your feast in the much shorter pick-up line to the left of the longer line, and return to the park for an outstanding picnic by the fountains.

Galleria Umberto

289 Hanover Street, Boston, MA 02113 (map)

617-227-5709

Cash Only!

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014-2016 Penny Cherubino

Related articles

Otto Pizza, Coolidge Corner: Our First Look (At This Location)

Sicilian Slices at Boston's Galleria Umberto

Sicilian Slice Crawl in Boston

June 9, 2016
Edible Boston Spring 2016 Issue Is Here

The arrival of a new preview issue of Edible Boston in my mailbox always makes me smile. It means a new season of food is here and a new opportunity to see which businesses support fresh and local food in our community.

It's good to see a whole fish in photographer Michael Piazza's cover shot. Fish, like meat, takes on better flavor when it's cooked on the bone. Inside you'll find a few fish tales. Having grown up in a fishing family, I adored Sarah Blackburn's article, Edible Basics: Red Fish, Blue Fish, Flat Fish, Whole Fish. It's a must read and includes a chart of when local fish are in season provided by Red's Best, one of my favorite, trusted suppliers of seafood.

Pages of step-by-step recipes for whole fish follow. (My own favorite preparation is to stuff a large fish with a traditional bread stuffing and roast it in the oven. It's a meal on a sheet pan.

Asparagus

When the season arrives, you will be ready with the asparagus primer on page 52. You'll find preparations from five chefs from around the area.

Other Topics

Bread, snack bars, cider, ice cream, pizza, and the very important topic of wasted food are also covered in this issue. Plus the always supportive team at Edible Boston shines its profile spotlight on a few local businesses.

As I alluded to in my first paragraph, this is one publication where I always read the ads. They are a source of new ideas and new resources for me. And I respect those who put their advertising dollars where they reach people like me who think that local food matters.

Support publisher Ilene Bezahler and her talented team

First, pick up a copy of Edible Boston at one of these locations. In fact, pick up two copies and share one with a food-loving friend or leave it where someone might discover it among lesser publications and become a new fan.

May I suggest that you let their sponsors know you saw them in the magazine and grab an extra copy and get it to someone else who cares about supporting the local food movement. Also, if you have a blog, twitter account, or facebook page, write about them, link to them, follow them, retweet their tweets, like them on facebook, and, in general, spread the word about this great asset to our community.

And, to be sure you never miss an issue, you can subscribe over on their website!

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Covershot & Photos :photographer Michael Piazza Courtesy of Edible Boston ( If you love great photography always pick up an Edible Boston issue!)

Related articles

Who Will Grow Our Food If There Are No New Farmers?

Do You Mise En Place When You Cook?

April 15, 2016
Edible Boston Spring 2016 Issue Is Here

The arrival of a new preview issue of Edible Boston in my mailbox always makes me smile. It means a new season of food is here and a new opportunity to see which businesses support fresh and local food in our community.

It's good to see a whole fish in photographer Michael Piazza's cover shot. Fish, like meat, takes on better flavor when it's cooked on the bone. Inside you'll find a few fish tales. Having grown up in a fishing family, I adored Sarah Blackburn's article, Edible Basics: Red Fish, Blue Fish, Flat Fish, Whole Fish. It's a must read and includes a chart of when local fish are in season provided by Red's Best, one of my favorite, trusted suppliers of seafood.

Pages of step-by-step recipes for whole fish follow. (My own favorite preparation is to stuff a large fish with a traditional bread stuffing and roast it in the oven. It's a meal on a sheet pan.

Asparagus

When the season arrives, you will be ready with the asparagus primer on page 52. You'll find preparations from five chefs from around the area.

Other Topics

Bread, snack bars, cider, ice cream, pizza, and the very important topic of wasted food are also covered in this issue. Plus the always supportive team at Edible Boston shines its profile spotlight on a few local businesses.

As I alluded to in my first paragraph, this is one publication where I always read the ads. They are a source of new ideas and new resources for me. And I respect those who put their advertising dollars where they reach people like me who think that local food matters.

Support publisher Ilene Bezahler and her talented team

First, pick up a copy of Edible Boston at one of these locations. In fact, pick up two copies and share one with a food-loving friend or leave it where someone might discover it among lesser publications and become a new fan.

May I suggest that you let their sponsors know you saw them in the magazine and grab an extra copy and get it to someone else who cares about supporting the local food movement. Also, if you have a blog, twitter account, or facebook page, write about them, link to them, follow them, retweet their tweets, like them on facebook, and, in general, spread the word about this great asset to our community.

And, to be sure you never miss an issue, you can subscribe over on their website!

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Covershot & Photos :photographer Michael Piazza Courtesy of Edible Boston ( If you love great photography always pick up an Edible Boston issue!)

Related articles

Who Will Grow Our Food If There Are No New Farmers?

Do You Mise En Place When You Cook?

April 15, 2016
Vesta Mobile Wood-Fired Pizza at the Wayland Winter Farmers’ Market

We could smell pizza from the moment we opened the car doors in the parking lot of the Wayland Winter Farmers' Market at Russell's Garden Center.

Signs led the way to the gloriously copper clad Vesta Mobile Wood-FIred Pizza oven and it's surrounding pizza preparation area.

Pizza was definitely going to be our choice for lunch.

This one is a market special. On the Vesta Facebook page they said, "The Beetza is Back!.. on the menu that is …featuring oven roasted Winter Moon Roots Beets from Hadley MA."

Check out the rest of the menu from last week. Our choice was the Margherita, since we think this is the best test of a pizza makers art.

Here's our lunch sliced into six pieces with fresh basil added at the last moment.

We took it back inside since the always warm and welcoming Peg Mallett from Russell's had pointed out the tables they had provided throughout the greenhouses for shoppers to enjoy all the lunch options available at this delightful farmers' market.

(In case you missed it, more about the market part of our visit here.)

Three of us shared the pizza and it scored big thumbs up all around. Penny will be following Vesta to watch for places where we might enjoy their great preparations again. They will be at the Wayland Market each Saturday through March 15th.

One more reason to take a ride to Wayland on Saturdays.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

February 6, 2014
Vesta Mobile Wood-Fired Pizza at the Wayland Winter Farmers’ Market

We could smell pizza from the moment we opened the car doors in the parking lot of the Wayland Winter Farmers' Market at Russell's Garden Center.

Signs led the way to the gloriously copper clad Vesta Mobile Wood-FIred Pizza oven and it's surrounding pizza preparation area.

Pizza was definitely going to be our choice for lunch.

This one is a market special. On the Vesta Facebook page they said, "The Beetza is Back!.. on the menu that is …featuring oven roasted Winter Moon Roots Beets from Hadley MA."

Check out the rest of the menu from last week. Our choice was the Margherita, since we think this is the best test of a pizza makers art.

Here's our lunch sliced into six pieces with fresh basil added at the last moment.

We took it back inside since the always warm and welcoming Peg Mallett from Russell's had pointed out the tables they had provided throughout the greenhouses for shoppers to enjoy all the lunch options available at this delightful farmers' market.

(In case you missed it, more about the market part of our visit here.)

Three of us shared the pizza and it scored big thumbs up all around. Penny will be following Vesta to watch for places where we might enjoy their great preparations again. They will be at the Wayland Market each Saturday through March 15th.

One more reason to take a ride to Wayland on Saturdays.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

February 6, 2014
Vesta Mobile Wood-Fired Pizza at the Wayland Winter Farmers’ Market

We could smell pizza from the moment we opened the car doors in the parking lot of the Wayland Winter Farmers' Market at Russell's Garden Center.

Signs led the way to the gloriously copper clad Vesta Mobile Wood-FIred Pizza oven and it's surrounding pizza preparation area.

Pizza was definitely going to be our choice for lunch.

This one is a market special. On the Vesta Facebook page they said, "The Beetza is Back!.. on the menu that is …featuring oven roasted Winter Moon Roots Beets from Hadley MA."

Check out the rest of the menu from last week. Our choice was the Margherita, since we think this is the best test of a pizza makers art.

Here's our lunch sliced into six pieces with fresh basil added at the last moment.

We took it back inside since the always warm and welcoming Peg Mallett from Russell's had pointed out the tables they had provided throughout the greenhouses for shoppers to enjoy all the lunch options available at this delightful farmers' market.

(In case you missed it, more about the market part of our visit here.)

Three of us shared the pizza and it scored big thumbs up all around. Penny will be following Vesta to watch for places where we might enjoy their great preparations again. They will be at the Wayland Market each Saturday through March 15th.

One more reason to take a ride to Wayland on Saturdays.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

February 6, 2014