It’s said that the North End in Boston has more restaurants per square foot than any other area of the country. While wandering up and down Hanover Street, Salem Street or any of the others, it is easy to see why. Tucked between historic landmarks like the Old North Church, there are Italian names of restaurants filling out awning after awning. On Salem Street, you’ll find the burning brick oven of Antico Forno.
The menu is a diverse compilation of delicious Italian flavors placed into several different categories: salads, pizzas, sandwiches, and a splintering of appetizers, flat breads, and many others. Not to mention the drink menu…
How We Gorged Ourselves:*
FOCACCINA CON CAPRINO: Flat aromatic bread topped with mixed green salad, goat cheese, grilled zucchini, and fresh cherry tomatoes
Deciding whether to get bread or meat, in this dish we opted for bread. We thought. Thinking we’d get a foccacia with a little bit of arugula salad, we were handed THIS and we are NOT complaining. Just look at that cheese! It’s all cheese! And we don’t feel bad because look at all of those vegetables! The star of the dish, we are still dreaming about the foccacia buried under that glorious pile of greens.
INSALATA ALLA CESARE: Fresh Romaine lettuce tossed with traditional Italian Cesare dressing and croutons [added chicken]
Our gluten-free friend could have opted to switch gluten-free pasta for any of Antico Forno’s pasta dishes, but opted to quell a caesar salad craving. Again, not disappointed. Piled high and with large shreds of parmesan, we were still trying to decide who would be plagued with food envy.
REGINA: Fresh arugula, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto and sliced tomatoes with mixed green salad
This was our “meat dish” (it’s really difficult to order anything other than the bread when staring at a brick oven). Delicious. We may have preferred our sandwich panini style, but we weren’t blindsided by bread. Now we’re just getting picky.
INSALATA PIZZA: Smoked mozzarella, fresh cherry tomatoes, capicola, fresh arugula and sliced cucumber
Seriously, just shut the front door, Antico Forno, because your floor is our new home. Essentially combining the outstanding pizza with crunchy, fresh salad, the Insalata Pizza lets you walk out the door guilt free, full to the brim, but guilt free…enough.
Drink:
Pomegranate Poinsettia… 10
Pomegranate liqueur, cranberry, prosecco
Let us premise this review with the fact that one of us HATES super sweet prosecco/wine. Ordering this drink for the pomegranate, we had to actively refrain from chugging down 6.
Bloody Mary
Again. Delicious. Spicy, tangy, done.
One regret? Not adding the Quattro Formaggi Pizza. But on a full and happy stomach, it’s one, small, fleeting regret.
*Also, there were four of us…don’t judge tooo much 😉
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