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la famiglia spagnuolo's restaurant that is, in the north end (240 hanover street), which is where i went for lunch today with dan francisco. once again, no luck in persuading any of the ladies downstairs to come along. something about the mall, something about keeping a watch of the office - a guy can take a hint! i got to dan's office by the galleria and bumped into gilles and joyce. they let me upstairs, where dan, putting on his jacket, was just on his way out. i also saw paul, whom i haven't seen in over a year, not since my involuntary departure.

we took the green line from lechmere to the haymarket t station, and then walked to the north end, cutting through heavy big dig construction work all around us. we spent the next 15 minutes trying to find a restaurant to eat ate amidst the myriad of fine italian eateries. up and down and side to side, we toured the nooks and crannies of the north end, cutting through the freedom trail, finally deciding on la famiglia spagnuolo's.


the prado

paul revere

paul revere
(detail)


northenders

north end dog
with sweater

although i didn't know it at first, when we went inside i realized i've been to la famiglia spagnuolo's before. kind of weird, of all the restaurants in the north end, we just happen to pick one that i've been to before. maybe it's the humble exterior that attracted our attention. the place was very homey, a couple of ceiling mounted television sets broadcasting some badly receptioned afternoon soap opera. an old man, could've been our grandfather, casually took our order without writing down anything. first came the bread, warm and freshly baked, i'm not usually a bread guy, maybe i was really hungry, but i couldn't stop eating it, delicious. then the complementary salads seasoned with a nice vinegrette, just enough tang and zesty flavor. after that our main course came, dan had the gnocchi, i had the egg plant ravioli parmigiana. the dish was okay, nothing to really write home about. i had a taste of dan's gnocchi though, i want to order that next time.

after paying our bill (our waiter filled it out in front of us, and waited by our table as we awkwardly split the bill and how much to tip), we went to mike's pastry to get some dessert. it was totally crowded with people, surrounded by a kaleidoscope of pastries on shelves and behind glass display cases, a blown-up photo of the shop proprietor with former president clinton adorning the wall behind the counter. i picked two different chocolate cannolis, had them wrap it up for me in box. it's funny, but i didn't even want cannolis. i sort of got swept up in the moment, i'm in the north end, seemed like a very north end thing to do.

we walked back to the haymarket station, cutting through the actual haymarket where people were selling fruits, flowers, and fishes. this is the second consecutive day where i'm kind of grossed out by the smell of fish! it was a great place for photos though, but because we were trying to get back to our respective offices, there wasn't any time to browse and see what people were selling. at the haymarket stop it took us a while before we found the green line connection, a lechmere bound train already pulling out just as we got there. after a few minutes of waiting though, another train came through the station and we took that back to lechmere. dan and i parted ways, it took me another 10 minutes to walk back to the office from the galleria mall.

i got to the downstairs office and gave amanda the box of goodies i had carried back from the north end. she cut it up into smaller pieces and we shared it with the other downstairs coworkers. i wasn't going to have any but after i tried a few pieces, i think i'm sold. maybe i've had some bad cannolis in the past, but these cannolis were different. they weren't thick, but rather they were very smooth. oh so sweet! i can't imagine eating a single cannoli! you could have one for dinner, it's so filling!

i then went upstairs, and for the rest of the day i spent working. prior to leaving, i watered my cat grass and gave it a slight trim, cutting off any broken blades. i then went back downstairs, by then only paula and barbara were left in the office, the downstairs space still surprisingly hot and dry despite only two people remaining. i took some running clothes home with me, transfered them out from my gym bag. since barbara was leaving as well, she was able to give me a ride in her car to harvard square. the bus going home was pretty empty, i sat in the back seat, my bag on my lap, my running sneakers on my bag, listening to my new etta james downloads on my mp3 player. thus friday concludes, thus another weekend begins.