Quote:
Originally Posted by sterlippo1
I have to disagree Shawn. Federal Hill , while i love it, isn't now and never was as authentically Italian as the North End, in my opinion. I know the North End is different now (sadly) but so isn't Federal Hill. A lot of my dad's family was from the North End so i've been going in since the '60's
( conversely, my mom's family was East Boston, very different Italian area) . I used to watch the feasts from my aunt's bedroom window, she lived across the street from Old North Church, 282 Salem i believe. I was a lucky guy to have been able to experience it back then. Both fantastic in their own right. I think the North End is the best "Little Italy" (dont like that moniker for the North End) in the country, i dont think it's even close. Arthur Ave in the Bronx is cool, Manhattan's is pathetic and SF's North Beach is nice but not close. Philly? love Philly, but that area not the nicest. Lots of good food places though! San Diego, surprisingly has a nice one.....I digress
|
No judgment on Boston, but I wouldn't discount the authenticity of Providence's Little Italy. While you're more likely to find Italians in Johnston or North Providence these days, just about everyone of Italian descent in the state -- and this is the most heavily Italian state in America -- traces their roots to Federal Hill. None other than Mario Batali has called Federal Hill the most authentic Little Italy in America.
As for the Mafia, the New England family was based in Providence for a long time, I believe at least in part to avoid competition from the Irish mob in Boston.