I did not realize that the weekend before the Boston Marathon coincided with Easter this year. I did not love having to miss Easter for the first time with the kids. It was also very strange to be in a different city by myself for a family holiday. Once I realized all of this, I decided that I needed to book myself a dinner, stat. But where?
When I did some digging on places for great Italian food in Boston, everything said the North End. But I wanted a more specific recommendation than that. I called in one of my former managers who used to live in the area who prides himself a foodie and he came through as always. Contessa it was!
The décor
I was already a fan going in because they were willing to take a reservation for a party of one on Easter at all. Fun fact: I found a fair amount of places that were not so interested! Contessa was also able to accommodate my other must have — early dinnertime!
The entry was just off the Common on Newbury Street, located on the top floor of the Newbury Hotel. Such a stunning view from 15 floors up! I really loved the decoration you encountered all the way from the entry up into the restaurant space on the top floor.
It was lovely to get dressed up a bit for the occasion too — with my comfy sparkly Betsey Johnson sneakers, naturally. Gotta protect the feet!
The meal
They bring out a bread plate with olive oil and fresh olives. So good. And because that wasn’t enough bread for me, I also ordered their whipped ricotta — sheep’s milk, honey and saba. If, like me, you aren’t familiar with saba, it’s an Italian syrup made by cooking down grapes. And it’s delicious. I felt kind of like Kevin McAllister in Home Alone, except instead of “a lovely cheese pizza just for me!” it was a lovely plate of fancy cheese and bread. Definitely the right choice.
Their cocktail and wine lists looked phenomenal but sadly I didn’t get to try any. Next time. I did order one of their mocktails — the grapefruit soda, which was grapefruit, rosemary and lemon. It was lovely and refreshing and I honestly felt like I was missing out on nothing, so bravo.
I wanted to try one of their more signature dishes so came in intrigued to try their Macaroni con Cinghiale (macaroni with wild boar.) Macaroni is one of the few menu staples of our house, so I also loved the idea of a grown-up version of the classic. I was a little nervous about having something a touch more adventurous the night before race day, but found it totally fine.
The pasta was light and fresh. The addition of the wild boar and chicken livers was rich but somehow not overly heavy. And for the rest of the sauce, the mix of dark chocolate, crème fraîche, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice added up into a sauce I was just sad to say I wouldn’t be having again in the short-term future. So unique and worth snagging a reservation to Contessa just to try this dish! For my gluten free friends, also noting they offer fresh gluten free options of all their pastas.
Definitely recommend checking it out — and snagging a reservation way in advance!
Contessa – 3 Newbury Street, Boston, MA – 617.741.3404 – Reservations required
Leave a Reply