Adventures on the North End – Boston [part 2]

While it may have been a bit cold and dreary in Boston, that didn’t stop me from making the most of my time in Boston and exploring the North End–the place where all the good seafood and Italian restaurants are (or so I’ve been told). From my experience, it seems to be true.

My brother wanted to take me to the Neptune Oyster House, which is so popular it has pretty much a three hour wait all the time. We went early to get our names on the list and then wandered around.

There’s the Old North Church ( “one if by land, two if by sea”), the freedom trail, Paul Revere’s house…basically a lot of historical things to see.

A few hours later, we got a call that we were next on the list, so we hurried over hungry for dinner. You will probably have to squeeze past people huddled in the small entry, but don’t let the small size of this restaurant fool you! It is delicious and well worth the wait. After doing a delicate dance of getting past the small area between the bar and the tables and not hitting anyone’s heads or wine glasses with our coats and lumpy bags, we made our way to a small corner and sat at one of the marble tables (fancy, right?).

random people, but it’s a lovely interior space.

Interior of the restaurant!

Mirrors give the illusion that the space is larger. (Look for the Hemingway quote on the mirror in the bathroom!)

I’d never had oysters or clams before, and while I was a bit hesitant, they were delicious! If you are lucky enough to get a seat at the bar, you can watch them prepare the oysters right in front of you. They are fresh and delicious!

All the food we ordered was delicious, and we didn’t leave anything on our plates. After eating our fill of oysters, clams, and lobsters, we headed out back into the cold.

The thing about being on the North End is that you can’t walk around without seeing people walking around with white boxes with blue lettering that says “Mike’s pastries” that’s tied up with a cute little string. After wondering about what kinds of pastries those people are walking around with, you will decide that you have to stop and and see for yourself.