Un Pezzo di Cielo Nel North End

By now you have probably heard this from me or if not me, my daughter (the self proclaimed food snob), growing up in an Italian family has its perks and its curses. The curses I am speaking of is trying to find a good Italian restaurant that would rival the taste one becomes accustomed to from their youth. Nothing could ever beat the soups, sauces or Italian dishes your Grandma, Mama or your multitude of Aunts could make. Unfortunately, as one grows up and moves out of the nest he must find a way to carry on the tradition of duplicating those wonderful specialties or pass them on to someone that can actually cook. I for one, am very fortunate to have a wife that picked up where Grandma, Mama and my Aunts left off and has kept me happy for over 27 years. That being said, what does the Moan Man do to find his pasta fix when he's on the road. Well, if I was in Boston all the time it would be easy. You see, one only needs to go to the North End to find a piece of heaven(title of the blog). So you may ask me, what did you find there Triple M?

Located in North Square, the oldest square in America, a quite retreat located steps from busy Hanover Street. With it's cobblestone streets and gas lampposts, North Square is one of the most romantic spots in the North End and Boston (would have been nice to be there with my wife).

The cuisine at Gennaro's is traditional Italian home cooking. So as they say, when in Rome do as the Romans do. This was not my first rodeo at Gennaro's and I was primed all week for this. But let me digress here and tell you how I almost made the biggest goof up of the week. You see, I knew where I wanted to go, I just wasn't sure how to get there. So after Kevin finally found a ramp garage to park at ($28.00 for about 2 hours) we headed out on foot for Gennaro's. Once we got into the North End the going was easy, except the restaurants are so close to each other we walked into the wrong one! Luckily, I caught my mistake at the last moment and told the host to sit tight as I needed to make a quick call before being seated. Exit stage left, went around the corner, and there was Gennaro's. In we went and as we were being seated, I asked to be seated in the upstairs section.

Our waitress came over with the menu and that's when all the debating started. You see I had to choose from too many of my favorites. So I started asking myself, "MM if you can make this at home, why have it here"? Good question, but I wanted to have all of the following:

Anyone of these would have been good, I just thought I should go against the grain and get something I wouldn't necessarily make at home................

What I settled on was Sausage and Peppers Al Forno. A beautiful concoction of rigatoni pasta in a red sauce with, peppers, onions, topped with goat cheese and baked to a golden perfection. Mama Mia I was in heaven! I wish I could explain to you the taste of this dish, but anything I try to put in words would fall short. Lets just leave it at...Per cenare presso Gennaro è quella di essere trasportati in Italia!

Only one thing left to do once dinner was finished, off to Quincy Market for a home made cannoli and a cup of coffee.

A perfect ending to a perfect dinner! I'm speechless at this point and can only leave you with this tidbit. Next week, it's back to Boston!!!