Galleria Umberto for pizza in the North End, a Seinfeldesque experience and great thick crust bakery style pizza. Second Regina for the atmosphere and the pizza.
Bova bakery in addition to Modern.
Have fun!
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sorry to be late to the game (and love an active thread). Modern does have pizza but I wouldn’t call it a speciality of theirs. RE the Italian bakeries, try the sfogliatelle (crispy layers, around orange peel scented ricotta) instead of the cannoli that i find pretty ordinary. Agree on Regina. Try to go at off-hours , ask for well done and keep it simple on toppings. If you go to Umberto Galleria, try the Arancini. I still get the Sicilian (corner slice) but the rice balls are special and the pizza is just inexpensive (IMHO). Also agree that better Italian can be found elsewhere and Guilia and Fox and the Knife were two of my best meals in Boston this year.
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Included in the linked substack post is a pretty good write up of what to expect when you visit Galleria Umberto. It is a great old-school Italian experience. I recommend getting both the pizza as well as the arancini.
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@ZivBnd I guess you are on your way out of town. Hope you ate reasonably well.
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I had a very good time! I started w the Politically Incorrect Tour of North End w Anthony, a North End local with Italian roots. We hit Galleria Umberto for arancini and Sicilian pizza. It was greasy and good, not great but definitely a locals spot. I swear i saw the old guy from the Rolling Stones there and at Regina the next day… Dead ringer. Keith Richards? Not a Stones fan but the guy looked so much like him.
Then we were off to Whitey Bolgers “office” for a locals view of the mob business. More importantly, we visited Monica’s Salumeria for an Italian Sub. Delicious! It has a balsamic reduction sauce that is so much better than a regular oil and vinegar!
Then we visited Polcari’s for a lemon slushy and an unintended brain freeze. The former was delicious! Anthony flipped the owner the bird repeatedly and the owner flipped the coffee sign around to show that the back of the sign said, " Your guide is not a nice man!" Then we went in the store and the two of them stood and chatted amicably while we wandered around the store w our lemon slushies.
Then we broke into an unsecured Boston City compound to get our picture taken with the twice riot-maimed sculpture of Christopher Columbus.
We visited Bricco’s entry where Anthony mentioned Frank DePasquale, the owner and i saw Frank’s picture w Sophia Loren. From there we went over and down to Modern Pastry where we had a so so pastry. But as we left Anthony was talking about Italian pastry types in an alley and some guy in a suit came around the corner, spotted Anthony, and kind of grinned. The suit dude came up behind Anthony, tapped him on the shoulder and said “Hello Anthony!”. It was Frank, going out of his way to greet Anthony. I thought it was cool that the rich owner of a dozen Boston cafes went out of his way to say hello to a food tour guide and did so in a friendly “friends from the old school” manner.
More importantly, we visited L’ Osteria for a small starter of ravioli and a glass of wine.
Then we had a deliciously simple Afogato at Dolce. And my day out in Boston ended abruptly. My gut was in full on rebellion so i decided to stay close to my bathroom for the next 12 hours.
But I did get a nice couple of dishes from Yunnan Kitchen before i retreated to my room, so that was good!
And i did get to Regina the next day for a rather good salami cacciatore pizza!
Each time i went to Neptune’s Oyster the line was stupid, even at 10:45 am before it opened. I wish i had waited in line, now.
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I visited Neptune on a rainy weekday in late Oct, mid afternoon. I think there were 3 people ahead of me.
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Thanks for the fun report (and sorry about the tummy troubles).
You may find this interesting: old habits die hard in the North End. The guy in the story is one of a trio of brothers who own the Monica’s franchise in the North End.
Also, I wonder if the guy in Polcari’s was Bobby (recognizable by his ever-present flat cap; wiry-thin)? Guy’s a character who has a photographic memory. B had treated him years ago in urgent care and when we walked into Polcari’s years after that, Bobby jumped up and yelled B’s name across the shop, shook his hand as if he were a long-lost friend. We stopped to say hi in February when we were in the North End with friends visiting from out of town, and of course, he remembered B.
The rice cake dish from Yunnan Kitchen as you reported on the other thread is very different from the preps I grew up with (albeit, mine were Korean). It intrigues me, as I love rice cakes. And that is one of my favorite fish preps.
Safe travels!
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We drove up years ago on a weekday (after visiting the Boston Public Market) on a rainy late October day around noon. We actually found a legal parking space right in front of Neptune Oyster and got seated at the bar immediately. 5 minutes later there was a line of about 30 people with umbrellas. A once-in-a-lifetime event, for sure!
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That’s when you can never drive away because it will never happen again (like in Seinfeld).
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First day in Boston, and straight to Neptune Oyster! 
Joined the queue of around 20+ people waiting before me, and then within 30 seconds a waitress came out looking for a single diner, so inside I went! Was sat next to another single diner so it was actually quite fun.
I had lobster roe slaw, which was very nice and refreshing. Followed by 6 oysters. Let me just say I’ve had better. And then the main course, the lobster roll of course, cold with mayo and a salad instead of fries. The lobster was excellent! Really good.
Overall I found the place a mixed bag though, unfortunately. The waitresses are just too pushy, trying to get you to leave as soon as possible. They keep on asking if you’re finished eating, and at one point they even gave me the bill half way into my meal. Stopped asking me for any drinks thereafter. It’s not a relaxed, casual place, even though this was a Sunday at 5PM. They also have pretty loud music on, mixture of dance and rock. But the lobster is great.
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Glad you enjoyed the lobster, sorry about the rest of your experience. Hope you have more hits than misses during your stay!!
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Hi Damiano! Not destination dining, but if you are in the Seaport area in want of a stop for beer and a bite of food Trillium Brewing could be handy. My husband has found Trillium to be an agreeable spot for meeting work colleagues. Informal place, of course.
P.S. Various craft brewers in New England have been doing the taproom + restaurant format in recent years, to put it into context.
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