Food & Drink in Mansfield

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.

Chinatown can be a bit intimidating.  The myriad of streets over lapping each other in a haphazard fashion, all lined with bustling restaurants adorned with colorful awnings decorated with their names, menus in the windows listing their fare in both English as well as Chinese, or Cantonese. But how do you tell which is good and which is better passed by?  Even more so, once you’re seated, how do you know what to order? Some spots make it easy on their clientele.  Gourmet Dumpling House is widely regarded as one of the best places in Chinatown, and here I let the name guide me when ordering - their dumplings are out of this world.  They specialize in a variety of types of dumplings, steamed to pan fried, with vegetarian fillings to meat fillings, however, I have to guide you to the Juicy Dumplings.  Often called Soup Dumplings, these little steamed pockets of perfection contain either crab meat and pork or just pork with a healthy addition of broth.  One does need to take some care when eating these treasures, as the broth can make for a messier experience, but the combination of the dumpling with the filling and the soup makes a perfect bite every time. Perhaps you’re more of a Steamed Pork Bun fan?  A sandwich of sorts with a “bun” so pillowy soft that it feels like a cloud encompassing artfully seasoned pork, sometimes accomplanied by veggies or a spicy mayo, and sometimes served clean, as is.  Mei Sum is the go to spot for these, with very honorable mentions at Chau Chow City and China Pearl. Looking for a good first date spot?  Head to The Q Restaurant for their Mongolian Hot Pot.  Hot Pot allows diners to choose their broths, their vegetables, their meats and create their own unique dinners right at their own table.   Differing a bit from the standard fare, Hot Pot is incredibly interactive, fun for a group or to help smooth out any awkward corners in the dating world. Chinatown is a large section in the city and is comprised of much more than just the restaurants listed here.  It’s streets contain many markets, pharmacies and the like all stocked with imported goods from China, each with their own unique feel.  If you are interested in learning more, there are phenomenal tours offered through Boston Food Tours that will guide you through the neighborhood and offer answers to all those questions you have. No matter what you’re looking for, I urge you to get out and explore the great Chinatown, treasures are sure to be found. Hungry for more? Explore all of our Boston restaurant deals.

Like any food, the best ice cream is all a matter of personal taste and preference. Luckily, Boston offers plenty of options to explore, which means lots of tasty trials to learn what flavors suit you best. With a dozen stores in and around Boston, J.P. Licks might just be the ice cream shop that Bostonians think of first when they’re craving a scoop of the sweet stuff. The 30-year-plus company, which began in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, has a fiercely loyal clientele, who swear by their fresh ingredients and proprietary formula. During the summer, patrons can grab a scoop of delicious fresh peach ice cream, but they won’t find the seasonal flavor on the menu in, say, December. That’s okay, though, because tempting options like pumpkin custard or cranberry orange sorbet take its place when the weather changes. J.P. Licks also offers frozen yogurt at their locations, makes an assortment of ice cream cakes and pies, and even roasts their own coffee beans. Emack & Bolio’s is another local creation, which began as a small operation in 1975 and has since turned into a sizeable franchise, with a dozen shops in Massachusetts, including four in Boston proper. The original owners claim to have invented the flavored cone in 1980 -- cones covered with cookie pieces or sugary cereals, or dipped in chocolate and rolled in any number of candies, nuts, or other sweets. Creating your own unique ice cream and cone combination is half the fun of getting ice cream at your local Emack & Bolio’s. Another Boston ice cream institution is Ron’s Gourmet Ice Cream and 20th Century Bowling. This Hyde Park neighborhood spot has been churning out homemade ice cream since 1974, serving it up as people line up to bowl a few rounds of candlepin. As you can imagine, the joint ice cream parlor and bowling alley is popular with families and large birthday parties. In addition to ice cream, homemade ice cream cakes are also available, which makes any celebration at Ron’s that much easier to plan. Of course, there’s any number of large chain ice cream and yogurt shops to be found in Boston. But this city takes pride in their history, even when it comes to decades old ice cream parlors, and it’s always a treat to eat the same flavors, at the same shop, as your family did a generation ago.