Finding La Bella Vita Stateside: Boston’s North End

I remember the first time I tasted gelato—I was a study abroad student living in Rome, and it was a sweltering August day. I don’t recall what I tasted first—the dark chocolate, the rich hazelnut, the overall creamy cold sweetness—but I’m pretty sure my knees buckled. Now this was how ice cream should be done—an explosion of sweet flavor teasing each tastebud; a lighter density than American ice cream (but still decadently creamy); and a perfect miniature spoon, all the better to savor each bite.

I think I knew that day, early in my semester abroad, it was going to be difficult to come home.

Luckily for me, Italian enclaves in U.S. metropolises have brought a little slice (or a whole pie) of the old country to American shores. If an Italy vacation (or relocation!) isn’t in the budget this year, consider seeking out an Italian stronghold right here at home …

North End—Boston
“Close your eyes and imagine strolling down quaint and narrow streets, enjoying the colorful sights, tantalizing aromas, and chaotic sounds of the oldest neighborhood in America,” says Michele Topor, owner of North End Market Tours, which takes groups for an insiders’ glimpse of the neighborhood’s many gourmet Italian food and spice stores and restaurants. A resident since 1970, Topor was drawn to the North End for its emphasis on food, family, and culture—in short, its European feel. “Little Italy in Boston testifies to the age-old immigrant experience in the New World,” Topor told me. “Also, in a neighborhood barely one-third of a mile, we have almost eighty eating places.”

I lived in Boston’s North End for nearly seven years, and can attest to its appeal for any Italyphile here in the States. I loved walking the windy streets home, passing the restaurants with fragrant garlic and ragu wafting out to the sidewalk, hearing my neighbors greet each other in Italian, attending the racuous summer feasts, seeing first-hand the crazy celebrations—confetti, dancing in the street, and a spontaneous parade—when Italy won the World Cup last summer. If I couldn’t return to Italy after graduation, the North End was certainly the next-best thing.