A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

Are you a Mike’s or a Modern cannoli person?

I’m a Mike’s. Both places are equally crowded on any weekend afternoon or evening. I’ll admit that Mike’s is a tourist trap, it’s in all the books and it’s a mob scene. Most weekends the line is out the door and down the block. There is no organized line at Mike’s, you fight your way up to the counter and hope to grab one of the people taking orders. And it’s cash only folks, so stop off at the atm before you come. There is a small area with table service, but seats are hard to come by. If you do manage to score a seat, be prepared to be packed in like sardines and jostled if you are sitting by the door.

So you finally manage to make your way up to the counter. There are about a dozen different types of cannolis alone! They also serve: lobster tails, Italian cookies, cakes, cream puffs, biscotti, Napoleans, ricotta pies, and marzipan. And just in case that’s not enough, they also serve gelato.

I love the Florentine ricotta cannoli. The shell is a Florentine, made with honey and almonds. It’s crunchy and sweet. The filling is made in house daily, a smooth ricotta flavor, and to top it off, the ends are dipped in chocolate chips! I skip the powdered sugar they always offer to add on because the cannoli is sweet enough as is!

The pistachio cannoli-I wish that the pistachios went all through the filling, not just at the end-and the nuts were like crumbs, you didn’t get that full bodied pistachio flavor. The shell was crunchy and light.

The lobster tail filling cannoli-the filling was a little lighter, a little sweeter and there were cake crumbs on the ends-yum. The question is, why get a lobster tail cannoli instead of a lobster tail?

My tips for this place are: be prepared to wait in line, have your money ready when you get up to the front, know what you want before you order (both your fellow customers and the people behind the counter will appreciate it).

Mike’s Pastry

300 Hanover Street
Boston, MA 02113-1835
(617) 742-3050

www.mikespastry.com

Tags: bakery, italian, north end