Trip to Boston

Classes ended on friday and celebrations were in order. Around 9:30 pm our hall mates were getting ready to go out. The hallway was abuzz with pump-up music and loud voiced concerns over which outfit to wear. My roommate (Kaitlin) and I, however, were planning for an early night. We had snuck tupperware into the dining hall and brought our food ("Mongo's Takeout" as we affectionately call it) back to our room to maximize our time. As Susanna and Julie from across the hall applied mascara, we were pulling on fleece pajama bottoms and packing our bags. Our plan: wake up at 3 am, leave by 4 and, hopefully, arrive at Brandeis at 10 am. 

For over a month we had been anticipating this trip to Boston. Kaitlin's best friend, Raechel, goes to Brandeis University and Kaitlin wanted to catch her entirely by surprise and whisk her away for a weekend of adventures. We ran over our itinerary in the rental car- in between our mama mia singing fest. Food was number one. Being from Boston, I devised a list of all the foods Kaitlin and Raechel had to try before the weekend was through.

 

We pulled into Brandeis on time and ridiculously excited. Raechel was so shocked by our arrival that she remained speechless for a good two minutes. After she regained her voice, we all hopped back in the car and headed for my house. With a little help from Cecilia (our GPS), we were there in no time.

After much hugging and kissing, my parents immediately sat us down and fed us. My dad had made his famous boereg (a blend of onions, spinach and filo nestled between flaky layers of filo), which he pulled out of the oven as we clambered into the kitchen. While Kaitlin and Raechel put away their bags, I sneakily picked off one of the tempting crispy sheets from the top of the boereg. The crunch was addictive, and I continued to pick off the pieces until the corner slice looked completely white and naked. I hoped no one would notice. If Kaitlin thought that her roommate had strange table manners, she was too polite to say so.

After boereg and a wonderful roquefort, we headed towards Central Square and Toscanini's. Ever since Kaitlin had professed her love for mango sorbet, I knew Toscanini's would be a stop on our Boston tour. My dad swears by their mango sorbet. He even likes their ice cream, which is saying a lot since my dad DOES NOT eat ice cream. The mango sorbet has a deep golden color and a rich, rummy flavor. Along with the sorbet, we sampled the pistachio ice cream (which is my favorite ice cream flavor).  We all decided that it was the the softer texture of the ice cream at Toscanini's that gave it the luxurious feel and taste. Unlike other Ameriacn ice creams, the flavors at Toscanini's are not overpowered by excess sugar.

 

The mango and pistachio flavors prompted me to divulge into a long speech about how I want to visit India. Immediately after saying it, I was worried Raechel would think I was a little eccentric. Kaitlin is used to my random comments and inspirations, but I had only known Raechel for a couple of hours. I'm glad to say she was not the slightest bit concerned, and we even all decided then and there to take a trip together (the destination is still in the works).

Our next stop for the day was the North End, Boston's Italian neighborhood. We ate dinner at Monica's (a tiny trattoria) where we had the most delicious lobster ravioli I have ever tasted. Instead of drowning the ravioli in a overly creamy concoction, the chef had simply tossed the pasta in a light plum tomato sauce. The tomato sauce played off the freshness of the lobster, which came through as sweet and slightly briny. As we exited the restaurant we divided up into three groups. Each group's destination was a different pastry shop. Collectively we visited the Modern Pastry Shop, Mike's Pastry Shop and Maria's Pastry Shop. Each group was assigned to order a classic cannoli at each of the pasticcerie. Our goal was to find the perfect cannoli. 

 

Back in my kitchen we displayed the three cannoli on the counter and split them into bite sized pieces. We tried Mike's first. The ricotta was overly sweet and the consistency was thick and pasty. Although the shell was crispy, the crunch was too much; there was no crumbly yield of the outer pastry. Modern's cannoli was much better. It was not as sweet as the cannoli from Mike's and the shell was perfectly crumbly. It was Maria's cannoli, however, that surpassed the cannoli at both Mike's and Modern. The filling was the least sweet of all three, which allowed for the creamy  flavor of the ricotta to shine. It was rich without being too thick. In fact the consistency of the ricotta was a tad runny. Raechel noted hints of citrus in the filling and I had a big goofy grin on my face. It was then, however, when exhaustion kicked in.

 Thoroughly tired, but satisfied, we slowly made our way up the stairs and collapsed on our beds. Little did Raechel know that a whole day of sightseeing and gastronomic explorations awaited her. But for then, we were content with our dreams of oozing ricotta, tender ravioli and my poor attempts at speaking Italian in the pastry shops.