Restaurants in Hanover

In Boston, a sunny day is not complete without a delicious meal or cocktail on the patio. Of course, man’s best friend loves the warm weather as well, but not every place allows pooches to hang out with the patrons. Here are three spots that have their welcome mats and doggie treats ready to go. The Terrace at Tamo Bistro & Bar | 1 Seaport Ln. All summer long, the Seaport Hotel’s Tamo Terrace welcomes furry friends for Cocktails and Canines, held on Wednesdays through August from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. They roll out the red carpet with plenty of fresh and organic dog treats, plus a delightful selection of human-only cocktails. The Yard at the Liberty Hotel | 215 Charles St. The Yard at the Liberty Hotel hosts Yappier Hour every Wednesday night from April through October. From 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., enjoy a cocktail from the full bar while your dog sips a pup-tini. A snack menu from Clink seals the deal, though the comfy couches certainly don’t hurt. Flour Bakery + Cafe | 1595 Washington St. Of course, it’s easy enough to create your own puppy picnic by taking advantage of the patio spaces all around Boston. Start the day off right with a latte and a sticky bun at the South End location of Flour, where dogs can sun out on the patio. Still hungry? Check out Groupon’s latest deals on restaurants in Boston.

The past few years, especially here in Boston, have seen the rise of the abnormal.  Menus throughout the city are now featuring dishes designed outside the “box”, incorporating proteins from exotic animals and using every edible piece of those animals.  The idea that is being utilized, to let nothing to go to waste, is not new. Countries all over the world have been making use of the “less desirable” cuts of meat (think tongue, brain, etc) for centuries, while the US remained largely mainstream.  However, as we began to look more at the idea of farm to table, the imaginations of our chefs opened up and started incorporating more nose to tail dishes, and exotic, unexpected meats on their menus. Trying some of these dishes can be incredibly intimidating at first.  Heart, tail, kangaroo…there are some very understandable nerves that may pop up when ordering.  Have no fear though, Boston’s chefs have been doing an incredible job of creating dishes that are both approachable and delicious. Barbara Lynch is widely known throughout the city for her incredible mastery of refined Italian and French cuisine.  She has a unique knack for blending both styles into artistic and beautiful dishes that are both simple and distinctive.  Her work at Sportello, located in the Seaport district combines her classic refinement with the comfort of a classic diner.  Here you’ll find true Italian dishes like gnocchi and agnoletti paired with more exotic accompaniments such as rabbit, or veal cheeks.  My favorite here though is a small plate featuring slices of toasted baguette, topped simply with lardo and candied walnuts.  Lardo is an incredible treat, richer than butter, harvested from pigs who feasted on apples and walnuts.  Sweet, nutty, and paired perfectly with the crunchy walnuts – it makes an incredible snack on its own or to awaken the palate before a big meal. Ken Oringer and Jaime Bissonette together run two of the most well known small plate restaurants in the city:  Toro, and Coppa, both with a concentration on preparing incredible dishes utilizing as much of each animal as possible.  My personal favorites are the Pig’s Tail at Coppa (Ossa di Maiale) and the Asado Huesos at Toro.  The pig’s tail combines the tail with other bones from the pig and roasts them with a mustard glaze.  The result is a deeply smoky, salty,  sweet and tangy dish that takes the best parts of ham and the best parts of bacon and marries them together.  The Asado Huesos concentrates on the insides of the bones, pairing the Marrow with a tart citrus and radish salad and a sweet oxtail marmalade.   A decadent dish, but when combined with the refreshing salad it has a perfectly “light” feeling. Of course we wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the king of the exotic meats, Brian Poe who runs the kitchen at the Tip Tap room.  First perusals of the menu show a concentration on classic menu items like steak tips or turkey tips and burgers, but if you look deeper, specifically at the specials board, the real beauty comes alive.  Chef Poe finds incredible proteins like Kangaroo, Yak and Wild Boar and creates classic dishes out of them.  Kangaroo burgers hit the spot frequently, and a Wild Boar Osso Bucco recently dominated my plate.  If you have a hankering to walk on the wild side, The Tip Tap Room is the place to do it, Chef Poe will gladly lead your way calmly and safely. Explore more Boston restaurants.

The North End is Boston’s Little Italy, an area of sheer bliss for any Italian food lover. This is Boston’s oldest neighborhood, with buildings dating back to the 17th century. In the 1800’s, it was the first stop for many Italian immigrants; generations later, you can still hear Italian spoken in shops and on the streets. Today its narrow and twisty streets are chock-a-block with cafés, restaurants, bakeries, gelato shops, bars and Italian specialty stores. It’s an adventure just to stroll through the neighborhood and read the menus displayed outside the restaurants. But as true aficionados know, “Italian” is too generic a term. Here, you can narrow down what type of food experience you want by region: Napoli, Sicily, Abruzzi, Lombardy, Piedmont and so on. Cozy, romantic, and upscale, Mamma Maria has been serving Northern Italian cuisine in its gorgeous row house setting for more than 40 years. Five dining rooms of differing sizes make the space feel very intimate, and the familial service is always topnotch. Though the menu changes daily, diners can usually count on the delicious and classically-prepared osso buco with saffron risotto, considering its popularity among local eaters. While Mamma Maria feels like a hidden gem, Ristorante Villa Francesca feels like a warm embrace, especially when its full-size windows on the street are wide open, and passersby get to glimpse the tempting Italian seafood on patrons’ plates. The prix fixe seafood dinner is one of the best deals around, offering dishes like lobster ravioli and cioppino (a mixed seafood stew of clams, mussels, calamari, fish and shrimp), plus a dessert for a very reasonable price. Perhaps less upscale, but no less beloved, is Regina Pizzeria, which has been serving up pies since 1926, each one cooked in its brick ovens. For many, the North End simply means a slice at Regina’s, and though there are other branches, the North End outpost is a classic, where nothing but pizza, sbeer and wine) is available. Some restaurants in the North End don’t serve dessert, allowing the numerous pastry shops and cafés to own that course. Mike’s Pastry on Hanover Street is world-renowned for its cannolis, and just one block away, also on Hanover, is Modern Pastry, which can hold its own against Mike’s and usually has much shorter lines. Though, in this part of the city, it’s easy to stumble upon a gelateria, pastry house or low-key Italian joint that serves up superior versions of hearty foods you’ve been eating your whole life. That’s why locals and tourists alike flock to the Italian-centric North End.