A Little Piece of Italy

Caffè dello Sport - 1 star
Hanover St., Boston

Yesterday we took Thomas to the North End in Boston to see some of the historic sites, like Old North Church (of "two if by sea" fame) and Paul Revere's house. The North End, of course, is Boston's Italian neighborhood, a maze of old red-brick buildings dotted with cafes, pastry shops, and gelaterie. Like many such neighborhoods across the country, it is rapidly becoming gentrified, and boasts more than its share of expensive, nouveau Italian restaurants.

Fortunately, though, Caffè dello Sport is as authentic Italian-American as they come ("sport" is an Italian word, by the way). It has an absolute minimum of decor, the tables covered with clear plastic tablecloths and the walls dotted with random pictures of obscure Italian soccer stars, which makes it the same as every small-town cafe in southern Italy. On the middle of a Sunday afternoon, the large-screen TV was playing not baseball nor NASCAR, but a group-stage soccer match between the under-19 teams of Italy and the Czech Republic (Italy won, 4-3). The panini were mediocre - ordinary fillings on a thick and uninteresting baguette - and they weren't toasted; only after ordering did I remember that panino is just the Italian word for sandwich, and only outside of Italy is "a panini" flatted and toasted in a George Foreman-like grill. But it was the first place in the U.S. I've seen where you can order a latte macchiato - milk stained (macchiato) with espresso - the breakfast drink that my friend Giulia taught me to order for breakfast back in 1996. And any place that can make a decent, fresh cannoli - filled with pastry cream on the spot - deserves a star, even if they weren't quite as good as the ones we get in Northampton.