Lunch at Ristorante Fiore in Boston's North End

One goal remained in in the early afternoon of our second and final day in Boston: a meal in the North End, Boston's Little Italy. Nothing like an ocean cruise (okay, a harbor ferry ride) to whet your appetite, so off we walked from Long Wharf, only getting lost a couple of times before reaching Hanover Street in the middle of the North End.

We'd read that the restaurant standards are high, so rather than looking for any restaurant in particular we wandered for a bit before entering Ristorante Fiore.
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After the fact, we found out that Fiore (yes - he's the owner) and his restaurant have won their share of accolades, but for now we were looking for a good lunch. No, we were not at all disappointed.

We opted to sit outside in a charming little patio at a table fronting the sidewalk. Through the wrought iron we could gaze across at that retro neon sign over Modern Pastry across the street.
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That cab, by the way, sat outside the bakery for upwards of a half hour, waiting for the delivery boxes eventually placed in the back seat. The other, perhaps even more famous, pastry shop, Mike's, is just up the street, but the meal we ate at Fiore's led us to dismiss any thoughts of dropping by either place for some cannoli to go, despite the lack of long lines that are characteristic of both shops.

Our waiter was Jack, who proved to be both a pro and a great guy. He was a seminary student at one point in his life, he's also traveled to Italy, and it was a great finale to our visit to Boston to talk travel with him.
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After looking over the lunch menu we went with a couple of Jack's recommendations. After a shared plate of antipasti (outstanding) Kathy ordered Lasagne alla Bolognese and Brian chose the Macaroni al Forno, with sausage made in-house. Mangia! Yes, they know how to cook pasta here, and both dishes were fantastico.
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We enjoyed a bottle of an Italian Merlot, Fiore's recommended "house wine" this month. If we're so lucky as to be eating in a great independent Italian restaurant, we'd be fools not to try the reasonably priced Italian wine they've chosen to feature.

When we mentioned to Jack how much we enjoyed the bread basket, he mentioned that Fiore even baked some of his own breads in-house, despite sitting adjacent to two of the most famous Italian pastry shops in Boston. He then brought out some truly delicious pizza bread for us to sample and presented us with a to-go box as we left.
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What a fantastic dining experience we had, agreeing that this was a highlight of our culinary highlights - in fact, the best single meal on our entire trip!

Before leaving, at Jack's invitation we took a quick tour of the premises and snapped some photos of the interior and their "rooftop garden."
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Mille Grazie, Jack. Felicitazioni, Fiore, an independent restaurateur delivering great food and a great dining experience.