Y is for Yummy Walk

We certainly are crawling to the finish line with our Alphabet Adventures.  We began this challenge back in October 2009 with a rule that each new letter must be completed within two weeks of completing the previous one.  We started off quite well, but we’re down to about two or three letters a year now.  The end is within sight, however.  This past Saturday I finally was able to complete the Y adventure.  Mom and Sue joined us this time around since Mom had suggested this activity.  The Yummy Walks are walking tours of Boston which include stops for local food.  We chose the North End Yummy Walk in order to sample some Italian favorites.  I had read that the maximum number of people on each tour is 12.  However, there ended up being 15 in our tour which was way too many.  I had also read to be sure to arrive hungry and you’ll leave the tour extremely full.   We arrived very hungry but did not go home full; more on that later.  Luckily we had nice weather on the day of our tour, not too hot and no sign of rain.  I think we would have been miserable in any sort of inclement weather as about half of the eating took place outside. 

We met our tour guide Chloe right at 1:00 and were off to stop #1, Salumeria Italiana, a specialty market.  Oddly enough, during the “I is for Italian Food” adventure, this was one of our stops.  We all squeezed into the shop to await our first gastronomical delights.  This is where it became apparent that 15 were way too many for a tour of tiny markets and restaurants.  It was quite uncomfortable standing around waiting to be fed while other people were trying to shop around us.  Finally one of the employees brought us out a tray of prosciutto and Parmesan.  We each got a tiny piece of each plus a tiny spoonful of balsamic vinegar.  I think we all were wondering how we were going to end up with full bellies if this was going to be the typical serving size. 

Italian Delights

Glorious Cheeses

We made our way to the next stop by walking by Paul Revere’s House and Rose Kennedy’s birthplace.  Stop #2 was Artu Restaurant where we were to sample some pasta.  Luckily we were ushered into the back room here where we sat at a table.  Of course an obnoxious family of three from Long Island proceeded to seat themselves like selfish children, and our group of four was split up to accommodate them. Whatever, at least each of us had a plate in front of us and we were filled with the anticipation of heaps of pasta with more than enough to go around.  Mrs. Long Island would not shut up about how hungry she was and Mr. Long Island would not shut about how he hoped they had vegetarian-friendly choices.  I saw Mom passing a note to Sue and I later learned it said, “Vegetarian MY ASS!”  Junior Long Island was on his phone the entire time.  Come to find out he was buying Pearl Jam tickets in as many different cities as possible.  Apparently he spends all his time traveling around the world to see Pearl Jam concerts.  I would mock him but I actually like Pearl Jam.  After waiting for what felt like an unusually long time for the pasta to arrive, they brought out three different choices.  One was Penne alla Puttenesca , the second was Spaghetti Carbonara, and the last was Fusilli con Rabe.  All the pasta was offered family style so we served ourselves from platters.  Mrs. Long Island proceeded to dip into the first platter and take half of the pasta.  Junior Long Island told her that perhaps that was more than her share as those platters had to serve everyone else as well.  She begrudgingly put some back on the platter.  The pasta was definitely more substantial than the swallow of prosciutto and Parmesan we had at the first stop but with a group of 15 it still didn’t feel like enough food.  I couldn’t wait to get out of there by the time we’d all finished as I’d had more than enough of Mr. and Mrs. Long Island. 

Stop #3 was at Captain Jackson’s Colonial Chocolate Shop right next to the Old Next Church.  We crammed in here and watched a demonstration of old-timey chocolate being handmade.  We also received a sample of old-timey hot chocolate which was quite good. After all the old-timey fun, we proceeded next door and sat through a quick lecture inside the Old North Church.  Mom was especially pleased about this as she had never been inside this particular structure of old-timey historical importance.  As to how she put three children through the New England public school system and was able to avoid a trip to the Freedom Trail is a mystery.

After our visit to the church and chocolate shop, we took a swing through Copp’s Hill Burying Ground which is quite an interesting spot, with graves dating back to 1659.  Then it was on to stop #4, Pizzeria Regina.  I was excited to have some pizza from one of my favorite Boston establishments.  Considering it’s impossible to get a table at Regina after 11:30am, I’m not surprised we were instructed to wait on the sidewalk while Chloe would bring the pizza out to us.  We had quite a long wait for the food here too, so we chatted as we loitered.  Finally two cheese pizzas were delivered and we each got a slice.  Again, not exactly the mounds of food I was envisioning.  Since Regina is such a North End institution, it would have been nice to learn a bit about its history but instead we just scarfed down the pies and moved on. 

Bring us the Pizza!

Stop #5 was a short walk away, a chocolate and specialty shop called Cocoanuts.  This shop was a bit roomier so we were able to enjoy a brief talk by the shop owner and a few samples of cookies, chocolates, and wasabi popcorn.  There was time for a bit of purchasing in this shop as well and Sue bought some cookies for later.

Stop #6 was just a few storefronts down from Cocoanuts, at Polcari’s Coffee.  Here they handed each of us a scoop of homemade lemon ice slushy.  Fabulous stuff, it might even have been our favorite food on the entire tour.  Some of us made a brief stop inside the market but soon enough it was on to our final stop.

Stop #7 was at Maria’s Pastry Shop for cannolis to go.  This looked like a nice shop to see inside but it was just too crowded for us again which was unfortunate.  This place warrants a return trip as we all agreed that the cannolis were even tastier than the ones from Mike’s Pastry Shop, which we always regarded as the gold standard.

I’m glad we all did this walk, some of the food was quite good and it was nice to have Mom and Sue along.  However, I’m not sure I would recommend this tour to others.  I think with a much smaller group I would have gotten a lot more out of it, and perhaps a bit more food?  I think $50 is a bit steep for the amount of food you get.  I also would have enjoyed it much more if we weren’t standing around on street corners and store aisles trying to enjoy the food; that part was too awkward.

This concludes my responsibilities in the Alphabet Adventures.  Doug is on the clock for the grand finale, Z.  Expect to see a blog about this one sometime in the next year unless he brings me to see World War Z this weekend.  I’m not saying I would mind that.