Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Here’s how to spend a perfect day in the North End
Jason Aluia, a lifelong North Ender and a trustee of Saint Anthony's Feast, takes us through his perfect day in Boston’s North End neighborhood.
In Boston.com’s Perfect Day series, we’re talking to a local expert in each of Boston’s 23 neighborhoods about how they’d spend their perfect day. See what makes this city so special to your neighbors, and share your perfect day with us at [email protected].
The North End is Boston’s oldest residential community, having been inhabited since it was colonized in the 1630s. Today, it’s known for its rich Italian American cultural history and Italian restaurants, but it has served as a hub for many immigrants, beginning with the Irish and continuing with Eastern European Jews and Italians.
Jason Aluia, is a lifelong North Ender and a trustee of Saint Anthony’s Feast, traces his roots to the neighborhood back to his grandparents, who were among the many Italian immigrants who settled in the North End in the early part of the 20th century.
Advertisement:
Saint Anthony’s Feast, a multi-day traditional Italian street festival, is one of the neighborhood’s tentpole events. Since its inception in 1919, it has become the largest Italian religious festival in New England, according to the feast’s website.
The feast brings together North Enders, residents from across Boston, and tourists from around the world looking to participate in the “old world” atmosphere and traditions the neighborhood has preserved. The 105th Saint Anthony’s Feast will be held Aug. 22 through Aug. 25.
Saint Anthony’s Feast runs deep in Aluia’s blood, too. He was born on the Friday night of the three-day feast, and took the middle name “Anthony” to reflect the connection.
Advertisement:
He’s been a part of the feast for “all of [his] life” and joined Saint Anthony’s Club, a private social club that sponsors the feast, when he turned 21. This year marks his 30th anniversary as an officer on the feast committee.
Aluia loves the neighborhood for its historic significance in the founding of the country, and for the roots his family has planted — and which he continues to sow.
“It’s such a unique place, because you have the history of my family who immigrated here and the founding of our country was here too,” he said. “That’s my favorite part, the roots that I have.”
Here’s how he’d spend a perfect day in the North End.
Morning | Afternoon | Evening | Map | Share your perfect day in Boston
Morning: Cappuccino, a traditional “salumeria,” and a food tour
Aluia begins his morning in the North End with a coffee at Caffe Vittoria (290-296 Hanover St.). The cafe was established in 1929 and is Boston’s first Italian cafe, according to their website. The cafe is spread across four levels, has three liquor bars, and a cigar room. Aluia will order a cappuccino or an espresso and a biscotti for breakfast.
Advertisement:
If he’s in the mood for a more substantial breakfast, he’ll head to Modern Pastry (257 Hanover St.) for an American breakfast from Modern Underground, a “speakeasy type” bar beneath the pastry shop. Modern Underground offers alcoholic beverages, appetizers, and entrees as well as a classic style breakfast menu and a special brunch on the weekends.
Next up on his agenda is a bit of grocery shopping. He’ll head to Salumeria Italiana (151 Richmond St.) for cold cuts, cheese, and maybe a sandwich. A “salumeria” is a cured meat shop or Italian deli. Aluia’s favorite salted meat is mortadella, which is made with pork and studded with pistachios.
Aluia’s favorite sandwich at this North End deli is The Original, which is made with three meats, provolone cheese, and a secret muffaletta spread.
“You ask the guys what’s in it [the spread] and they won’t tell you,” he laughed.
Nearby is the Sulmona Meat Market (32 Parmenter St.), a butcher shop where Aluia will go for fresh, quality cuts of meat. He recommends their sausages.
For his vegetables, he’ll head to Alba Produce (18 Parmenter St.), formerly called Rosario’s. The shop was named after owner Rosario Mogoverro, who sold the store to the current owner Albie Alba. Aluia said he and other North Enders who grew up when the shop was under Mogoverro’s ownership still affectionately call it Rosario’s, despite the name change.
If Aluia is bringing guests along for his perfect day in the neighborhood, he recommends they take Robert Agrippino’s North End Food Tour. Agrippino, like Aluia, was a born and raised North Ender, and the two grew up together.
Advertisement:
“I went to school with his sister-in-law and we all know each other. Robert does one of the best food tours in the city,” Aluia said.
The tour starts at the Tony DeMarco Statue, located on Hanover and Cross Streets, and lasts between two and three hours, making stops for traditional Italian food and drinks at several mom-and-pop shops and historic locations in the neighborhood.
Afternoon: Feast street vendors and the “Italian Riviera”
On this perfect day, Aluia will spend his afternoon at Saint Anthony’s Feast, where he’ll take in the fanfare, food, and lively atmosphere. The feast is held on Thacher, Endicott, and North Margin Streets in the North End and hosts nearly 100 street vendors every year.
Among the many food options are classic feast favorites such as sausage, pepper, and onion subs, arancini, fried calamari and cherrystone clams, pizza, spumoni, lobster tails, gelato, zeppole, cannoli, and more.
Aluia recommends a sausage, pepper, and onion sub or his favorite feast food, cherrystone clams.
“I always have at least a half a dozen cherrystones,” he said.
For sit-down and al fresco lunch options, he’ll head to Regina Pizzeria (11 1/2 Thacher St.), Massimino’s Cucina Italiana (207 Endicott St.), Ducali Pizzeria & Bar (289 Causeway St.) or Filippo Ristorante & Bar (283 Causeway St.). He also recommends a beer garden located at the corner of Thacher and Endicott Streets, across from the Stella Cheese Culinary Pavilion.
The feast is the only time throughout the year that Regina Pizzeria offers outdoor dining, Aluia said. Regina’s North End location was founded in 1926, making it Boston’s oldest pizzeria. On the menu is the Saint Anthony pizza, a white pizza with garlic sauce, sausage, peppers and onions. Aluia will sit in the piazza with his pizza and a glass of wine or beer while he listens to live music and watches the festivities.
Advertisement:
For a lunch option outside of the feast grounds, Aluia recommends Galleria Umberto (289 Hanover St.). This cash-only restaurant has just six items on their menu: calzone, pizza, arancini, pizzette (a small pizza), panzerotti (a savory turnover), and panini.
Alui described the restaurant as “unique” for its compact menu and hours; it is open from 10:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and closes when they sell out of food. The restaurant is often packed, Alui said, as it’s popular among tourists and North Enders alike.
Galleria Umberto’s was named one of “America’s Classics” by the James Beard Foundation in 2018, an award given to locally owned restaurants that “serve quality food, have timeless appeal, and reflect the character of their communities.”
For dessert, Aluia will head to Parziale Bakery (80 Prince St.) for a slice of ricotta pie. If the afternoon is hot, he recommends grabbing an Italian lemon slush (an Italian ice) from Polcari’s Coffee (105 Salem St.) to cool off.
If Aluia wasn’t spending his afternoon at the feast, he’d spend it leisurely with either a walk along the Boston Harborwalk, with family and friends at the New England Aquarium (1 Central Wharf), or at the BCYF Mirabella Pool (475 Commercial St.). Aluia said North Enders jokingly call the community pool “the Italian Riviera” for its location along the harbor and views of the USS Constitution.
Evening: Dinner, cannolis, and the Grand Procession
As evening approaches, Aluia will make his way to the main stage of the feast for a 5 p.m. mass. His childhood friend, Father Michael Della Penna, will oversee an outdoor celebration of the Eucharist on the feast’s main stage on Saturday, Aug. 25.
Advertisement:
“It’s really beautiful to have a guy you grew up with being a priest, and he does a beautiful mass during Saint Anthony’s Feast on Saturday,” Aluia said.
Afterward, it’s time for dinner. If he’s not eating at the feast, Aluia will go out for dinner. One of his favorites is Artu (6 Prince St.). He used to work at the restaurant in his youth, and recommends the chicken milanese from the bar menu or his favorite, the pollo donato from the dinner menu. “It’s phenomenal,” he added.
For dessert, he’ll head to two of the North End’s famed – and fiercely debated – pastry shops: Mike’s Pastry (300 Hanover St.) and Modern Pastry Shop (257 Hanover St.). Both pastry shops have been involved in a long-standing debate over which offers the best cannoli. Aluia doesn’t have a favorite and encourages people to try out both and decide for themselves.
“Who has the best? I always tell people, get one of each, and then you decide. They’re both people we grew up with. So you can’t pick among friends,” he said.
Both shops offer a variety of different cannoli flavors, but Aluia’s favorite is a traditional cannoli with light powdered sugar.
After dessert, he’ll grab an espresso martini at Florentine Cafe (333 Hanover St.) before heading out for a walk along the Paul Revere Mall, also known as “the Prado.”
Advertisement:
The pedestrian walkway was built in 1933 and is located between Boston’s oldest church, the Old North Church on Salem Street, and St. Stephen’s Church on Hanover Street. A statue of Paul Revere atop his horse is located at the end of the mall along Hanover Street.
“There’s a beautiful fountain, and at night, it’s really pretty. There’s always someone playing the violin and this guy sings. It’s lovely,” Aluia said.
A couple minutes away is a national historic landmark, the Paul Revere House (19 North Square). Built in 1680, it was the home of Paul Revere and his family from 1770 to 1800. It’s an iconic landmark in Boston and the nation, and holds personal significance for Aluia, too.
“My mother’s house, her back window, faces Paul Revere’s House in North Square,” he said.
Aluia will end his day at the grand procession of Saint Anthony’s Feast, which takes place on Sunday. The grand procession is a highlight of the feast weekend and begins at 11:30 a.m. The statue of Saint Anthony is carried by eight men at a time for ten hours throughout the streets of the North End to allow devotees to pin donations to the saint.
“There’s the confetti, balloons, marching bands, and we visit people’s homes and businesses, and they make donations to the saint. People wait all year for this, so there’s little open houses, and people wait by their windows to drop a donation or kiss the saint,” Aluia said.
Find all of Jason Aluia’s recommended spots below.
What does a perfect day in Boston look like to you?
How would you spend a perfect day in your neighborhood?
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com