A Night Out in the North End

On Saturday night we decided to take advantage of the "nice" weather by going to see some outdoor light displays in the city.  It was so nice out during the day that you didn't even need a jacket so we figured this would be a great time to get outside at night.  Our plan was to stop at Christopher Columbus Park to see the blue arches and then walk over to the Seaport to see an outdoor illuminated art display. 

Well, somewhere between us getting our plan and us mobilizing it got much colder.  When we got off the T at North Station we quickly realized that traipsing through the city probably wasn't the best idea.  We made a quick decision to try to get dinner at the North End (we figured we had a shot at walking in a place without a reservation on a Saturday night because it was in between the holidays.)  Massimino's is a sentimental favorite place of mine in the North End.  My dad's friend took me here a long time ago and he knew the owner so we got all of these platters of food to try.  (It's a treasured memory of mine.) 

We were really lucky to be able to get a table downstairs without a long wait.  There's nothing fancy about Massimino's but it quintessential North End.  I love that it has two floors.  The small upstairs dining room is really cute and the downstairs is a stone walled subterranean space with the small bar in the back.  The walls in the back double as wine racks.



The menu is expansive and features antipasti dishes, pasta, chicken, meat, fish, and veal.   There is no way you couldn't find something to eat on this menu.  We started with Nonna's meatball and the caprese salad.  The meatball is pretty much a meal in and of itself.

JO got the Massamino's veal in a delicious tomato and white wine sauce with mushrooms, broccoli, and tomato and I got the chicken piccata.  Both dishes are served with a side of pasta (which isn't homemade so that's a minus) but both dishes were basically two meals in one.  The prices are really reasonable for the North End. 

After dinner we headed over to Christopher Columbus Park since it was close by.  I love the blue arches and it's definitely a can't miss during the holiday season.

Then we headed over to see the Blink show at Faneuil Hall before making our way up to the Last Hurrah at Omni Parker to end the evening.