Family Day in the North End

My dad had business in Boston yesterday so he asked if we wanted to go with him.  We said YES and decided to have lunch together in the North End.  The North End was very busy on a Wednesday afternoon.  We ate lunch at Trattoria Il Panino Express on Hanover St. which was great because we got a table that was open to the street. We watched the world go by while we ate. My mother really treasured the moment because it was one of the last times we would be there before my brother leaves for school.

The food was yummy.  We all got something different.  Thomas got an enormous slice of cheese pizza.  He can be a picky pizza eater but he ate the whole piece and really enjoyed it.  My parents had a panino - which is a sandwich usually made with cheese, vegetables and meat.  Mom had the Panino Lady with tomato, basil, mozzarella cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.  Dad had the same but with prosciutto.  I had the kids penne pasta, which was cooked just right and it left me room to try my parents' sandwiches.  I liked them both - but I liked my Dad's better with the prosciutto.  The bread was awesome!  It was very fresh, and had a good chew to it. 

After lunch we strolled down Hanover Street to Mike's Pastry www.mikespastry.com for a cannoli.  On our way, we ran into friends from our town that were on their way to lunch - you never know who you might see in the North End!  When we walked into Mike's there was a crowd of people looking up at the cannoli menu.  There were a lot of choices!  Dad got pistachio, I got double chocolate and my brother got double chocolate mousse.  We were still full from eating lunch, so we got them to go.   The cannolis were calling out to me in the car ride home, but we saved them to have that night for dessert. It was soooo good but too big for me to eat all at once.  I still have half of my cannoli left, I think I'll have it now!

Pictures by Julia The Child Foodie