The weather, of late, has been tempermental. Generally the nice sun-filled days have been reserved for the work week when we are stuck indoors and the weekends have been filled with rain, snow, sleet and every other form of winter misery. However the sun was shining on us this past weekend and we decided to take advantage of the nice break in the weather pattern. Granted it was a windy day and would be considered “freezing” by anyone not in and around the New England area. For us New Englanders (or for the acclimated transplant that I am), it was lovely.
The boy and I decided to go to the North End. We had every intention of going to the New England Aquarium as I have never actually been inside. I have only admired the playful seals at the entrance area. Unfortunately we were a bit put-off by the almost $20 admission price and decided that if and when we ever had children, we would readily fork over a small fortune to enter the Aquarium. However, as of today, we were going to be cheapskates. Instead we decided to hike over to the North End and have some Italian food, stop at Mike’s for some Italian pastries and just generally enjoy the unseasonal warmth and sunshine.
We walked for a bit along the water front and watched the sail boats filling the harbor. It seemed that everyone was out to enjoy the day as well and a few were getting a jump-start on the boating season.
The wind started to pick up and we decided to seek out a bite to eat and a bit of indoor warmth. We made a quick pit stop at the parking meter and filled ‘er back up and headed over to Hanover Street, the main drag of the North End.
The boy had his heart set on eating at Pizzeria Regina. He swore up and down that they made the best brickoven pizza and I was quite happy to go along with his quest. We walked up and down the maze of tiny side streets as he couldn’t quite remember where it was. Suddenly we found ourselves in front of a vintage store and naturally I suggested we pop-in and have a “look-see” . The boy really had no option but to agree and in we went.
Cadia’s Vintage is my favorite type of vintage store - a hodgepodge of kitsch and collectibles. If they had more vintage clothing on the racks, I would’ve moved in. They have vintage LPs (which I happen to collect), old magazines, glassware, jewelry (I am a sucker for cheap bling - rhinestones are a gals best friend!) and any number of other tid-bits. They seem to have an ever revolving stock so it would be the type of place I recommend you visit often. We found a complete set of vintage spice canisters on a matching rack and immediately scooped them up.
Yes, walking into our home is like being transported to 1950-something and the spice rack was just what the kitchen needed! We asked the clerk for directions to Pizzeria Regina and with our new purchase safely bundled under the boys arm, we headed off in search of food.
Of course there was a line out the door and around the block! The boy looked at his watch and deduced that we would either have to head back to the car and put another small fortune in quarters into the parking meter or locate another restaurant. I opted for the other restaurant option. We headed back towards Hanover street, the mid-point between food and car and the location of endless restaurant choices.
Each restaurant was busier than the next and we had precious few minutes to spare. We ended up ducking into Cafe Pompeii as they were nearly empty and we were verging on starvation.
You would think that two well-educated, moderately intelligent adults could deduce that an empty restaurant in the heart of “fine italian dining central” would equate horrible food. However, our hunger briefly weakend our logical thinking and we sat down and ordered the basil, tomato and mozzarella salad and eggplant parmigiana. There is not much you can do to ruin a salad but the ingredients were less than stellar and rarely have I ever been served a basil, tomato and mozzarella salad on a bed of tasteless lettuce with kalamata olive as garnish. It was edible but not enjoyable.
The eggplant parmigiana was a bit watery and tasteless. The boy seemed to enjoy it and I didn’t exactly spit it out but as were both starving. The sauce was akin to a jar of Ragu and I am not sure there was any actual Parmesan cheese on the plate - or any cheese, for that matter. It was just a giant red blob of food similar to highschool cafeteria fare, if memory serves.
The bill came and it was a bit over-priced, in my opinion. We do not recommend Cafe Pompeii and am sure we will never dine (if you can call it that) there again. Next time we head to the North End we will be sure to bring lots of quarters and trek the extra mile to the parking meter to buy us some quality food time.
We, of course, stopped at Mike’s Pastry on our way back to the car and purchased two Canolli’s and some Rugalah to take home. There are no pictures of the beautiful sugary sweetness of these concotions as they didn’t survive long enough to be photographed. Mike’s was the perfect end to an atrocious meal!
We walked back to the car and headed through the tunnel to our little home by the sea. The weather started to turn. The winds picked up and the rain came back. The boy and I sat at the window watching as the trees bowed in the wind and the waves crashed against the seawall and we smiled. We were both happy to have taken advantage of the brief respite from winter weather.
Here’s hoping that next weekend gives us the same little break and we will have to start counting down - how many days until spring?
