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Explore New EnglandBoston Sunday Globe October 19, 2008 BOSTON.COM/TRAVEL

By Necee RegisGLOBE CORRESPONDENT

t is a warm, weekday afternoon inearly fall, and Hanover Street isabuzz with activity. Trucks doublepark, unloading cases of wine andcrates of vegetables for the restau-rants lining the street as gelato-eat-ing tourists saunter past elderlygents sipping espresso and banter-

ing in Italian.Off the main thoroughfare, where flowers

bloom in boxes along narrow, cobblestone

streets and scents of garlic, pecorino, andcured meats waft from the open doorways ofsmall salumerias, one can be forgiven for in-dulging in the fantasy of having traveled to asmall town in Italy.

After years of dust, noise, and upheavalcaused by the Big Dig project, the North Endis once again an accessible treasure. The RoseFitzgerald Kennedy Greenway makes it easyto navigate from the Haymarket subway ter-minal to Cross Street and from there to Hano-ver, which stretches like a spine to the water-front.

While the city’s construction project wastransforming the surrounding landscape, theNorth End, home to the Old North Churchand Paul Revere’s house along the FreedomTrail, also was changing. Known for decadesas a neighborhood where pizza and pasta withred sauce ruled supreme, the North End isnow home to a number of sophisticated eater-ies and fashionable boutiques. On a menu,you are as apt to find artichoke-pecorino ravi-oli topped with a cream of langoustine condi-ment as spaghetti with meatballs.

GEORGE RIZER/GLOBE STAFF

DOMINIC CHAVEZ/GLOBE STAFF PAT GREENHOUSE/GLOBE STAFF

The Italian heart of town

PHOTOS BY PAT GREENHOUSE/GLOBE STAFF

With the Big Dig dust settled, trendy mixes with traditional in an accessible North EndLongtime favoritesthrive, like Maria’sPastry Shop, withits marzipan fruit;Salumeria Italiana’scheeses and meats;Caffe Vittoria, aneighborhoodmeeting spot; andCaffe dello Sport,where soccer andsweets reign.The Velvet Fly, anewcomer, is awomen’s boutique.

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WITH HALLOWEEN LOOMING, SALEM IS IN THE SPOTLIGHT. VISIT OUR DESTINATION GUIDE AT BOSTON.COM/TRAVEL.

By Patricia Harrisand David LyonGLOBE CORRESPONDENTS

Kim Ferreira sat behind the deskat her Three Graces Gallery (105Market St., 603-436-1988) and sur-veyed the art clustered on the walls. ‘‘Iwas still hanging pieces at 5:30,’’ sheadmitted. ‘‘There are 35 artists in theshow, and some have six pieces.’’

She had pounded the final nail andstraightened the last frame just intime for Art ’Round Town, the coordi-nated openings at six Portsmouthgalleries that take place on the firstFriday evening of every month. Clear-ly it was worth the effort. ‘‘We get agreat turnout,’’ she said. ‘‘Often youcan hardly move in here.’’

As gallery-hoppers sipped wineand closely studied the small paint-

ings, photographs, and prints, Ferrei-ra’s boyfriend, Bob Marino, circulatedthrough the crowd. ‘‘This buildingwas a former counting house for theharbor,’’ he explained, pointing out asafe embedded in one wall and a trapdoor in the wide wooden floorboards.Marino met Ferreira, an artist whoopened her gallery in May 2004,when he stopped in to have someartwork framed. ‘‘I think she thoughtmy taste was a little conservative,’’ hesaid, but the relationship blossomednonetheless.

While we can’t guarantee thatyou’ll find true love, Art ’Round Towndoes deliver an entertaining eveningof socializing — and lots of inexpen-sive wine. Even the city streets takeon an upbeat, artistic vibe. As we left

Artuncorks

eveningsof seeing,savoring,spending

DAVID LYON FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

Nahcotta gallery welcomes abstract aficionados last month. PORTSMOUTH, Page M8

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M8 Travel O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 0 8B O S T O N S U N D A Y G L O B E

But those who loved the oldNorth End should not despair.The neighborhood has managedto preserve its identity while ex-panding its repertoire to includethe upscale and trendy. Restau-rants may now have large win-dows that open to the street —rather than dark interiors withChianti bottles overhead — butyou still find places like the Caffedello Sport, with Italian soccerteam schedules taped to the cashregister, two big-screen TVs tocatch the action, and cappuccinotopped with schiuma perfetta.

NORTH END TOURFind your way with an

interactive map and photos atboston.com/travel.

Eating well is a hallmark ofthe North End. You may spend alittle or a lot but you won’t behungry when you leave.

The line stretches from thecounter out the door most days atGalleria Umberto. Open forlunch only, this cavernous, no-frills operation has been in busi-ness since 1973. The pizza is Si-cilian-style: large pans of bub-bling cheese with sauce cut intosquares. The arancini (deep-friedrice balls stuffed with meat andcheese) are the size of candlepinbowling balls and the yam-shaped panzarotti (deep-friedbreaded mashed potatoes withcheese and herbs) are surprising-ly light and fluffy.

Of course every return visitorhas his or her own favorite pizza.Christine Scannell of Topsfield, aself-described ‘‘pizza snob,’’swears by the more than 30 vari-eties of pies at Ernesto’s Pizzeriaon Salem Street.

‘‘This is it for me. I absolutelylove it,’’ said Scannell, who waseating a slice while her to-go or-der sat on the table. ‘‘I have tobring some home for my son. Ifhe finds out I stopped here with-out him he’ll get mad.’’

If these establishments repre-sent old-world style, the new canbe found a few doors down on Sa-lem Street at Neptune Oyster. Sowhat if the white tile and darkwood interior feels more like abistro than a trattoria? Thechanging varieties of oysters andshellfish at the raw bar are asfresh as the sea, and the chowder,fried clams, lobster roll, and halfdozen entrees feature local ingre-dients.

If you prefer a linguine marin-ara or fettuccini Alfredo servedbeneath a ceiling painted to re-semble Michelangelo’s SistineChapel, head to Lucia Ristoranteand Bar. The Frattaroli family hasowned this establishment formore than 30 years, and evenwith recent renovations it still of-fers pre-Big Dig charm.

More regional menus can befound at Trattoria il Panino,which features Amalfi CoastMediterranean cuisine, and atTaranta where chef Jose Duartecombines Southern Italian andPeruvian cuisines to perfection.

Sweet tooth? North End bak-eries and cafes are abundant.

Open from 6 a.m. till mid-night, Caffe Vittoria has beenserving customers in its elegantHanover Street space since 1929.At its small round tables it’s easy

to linger over coffee, gelato (in-cluding pistachio, ciccolata, ha-zelnut), and pastries (includingcannoli, sfogliatelle, rum baba)while sipping a Campari or grap-pa.

On a sunny day, get your orderto go from Maria’s Pastry Shopand sit near the fountains alongthe Greenway. Less celebratedthan others on the strip, this un-assuming bakery is where localsgo for homemade, authentic Ital-ian cakes, cookies, candies,breads, and confections such aspasticiotti, mini pies with eithervanilla cream or sweetened ricot-ta filling. (Don’t forget to ask forpowdered sugar on top.)

One of the more noticeablechanges in this area is the num-ber of boutiques selling clothes,jewelry, shoes, and gifts. The mixof old and new in the North Endsuits the sensibility at The VelvetFly, where owners Beth AnnHoyos and Lorrinda Cerrutti sella combination of vintage andmodern dresses, shirts, coats,bags, and shoes at affordableprices.

‘‘The old neighborhood is mix-ing in with the new. There’s a lotof energy. Everyone knows every-one,’’ said Hoyos.

‘‘This is one of the few parts ofthe city with a real neighborhoodcharacter. It has old world charmand new world flair,’’ said Cerrut-ti.

Farther down the street, Meri-

lee Wolfson sells eclectic jewelryfrom all over the world at HighGear Jewelry. One of the firstboutiques in the area, the spacedoubled when Wolfson moved toHanover Street three years ago.Look for the Trend Board featur-ing stories about the newest hipjewelry designs.

‘‘I try and get ahead of every-one else. For example, links arehuge right now. And purple is bigthis year. If it’s ‘in’ we’ve got it,’’said Wolfson.

Open since 1932, Polcari’sCoffee is less a boutique andmore a local institution. Walkinginside is like stepping back intime: The floor is part wood andpart linoleum, and the wood andmetal shelves overflow with 150spices, dried legumes, rice,grains, over a dozen types offlour, 27 varieties of coffee, bulkteas, oils, vinegars, pasta, stove-top coffee pots, and sets ofespresso cups. Robert Eustace,whose mother was born in theNorth End, is more than happyto answer questions — in Italianor English — about his productsand the neighborhood.

To bring a little piece of Italyhome, head to Salumeria Italia-na. Open for more than 40 years,this small storefront on Rich-mond Street is filled with aromasof goat, sheep, and cow cheeses,cured meats, and 14 varieties ofolives. Nonperishable items in-clude imported olive oils, aged

balsamic vinegars, canned toma-toes, peppers, coffee, honey, pre-serves, and seemingly endless va-rieties of pastas.

Though all-things-Italiandominate the landscape, itwasn’t always so. As North EndSecret Tours guide and residentGuild Nichols may remind you,the history of the area stretchesback to the 1600s. Since then,waves of immigrants movedthrough as fortunes rose and felland rose again: from the Puritansand early Anglicans, through atime when the area was calledthe ‘‘Murder District,’’ through aninflux of Irish, the arrival of East-ern European Jews, to the 1860swhen the first Italian immigrantssettled here.

Last, and certainly not least,the North End lies along the

Freedom Trail, which includesthe Old North Church (of ‘‘One ifby land, two if by sea’’ fame),Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, andPaul Revere House, which is theonly remaining example of 17th-century architecture in down-town Boston.

In the house is a replica of anearly kitchen, with apple slicesstrung across the hearth to dryand a piece of (faux) meat wait-ing to be grilled. After contem-plating such a meager meal, andthe North End’s humble begin-nings, it was heartening to knowthat the vitality, charm, and culi-nary delights of Italy were wait-ing just outside the door.

Necee Regis can be reached atneceeregis@gmail.com

Where to eatGalleria Umberto289 Hanover St.617-227-5709Lunch $1.25-$2.50. Ernesto’s Pizzeria 69 Salem St.617-523-1373ernestosnorthend.comSlices $3.50-$4.50. Neptune Oyster63 Salem St.617-742-3474neptuneoyster.com$13.50-$34. Lucia Ristorante and Bar415 Hanover St.617-367-2353luciaboston.comEntrees $13-$33. Trattoria il Panino11 Parmenter St.617-720-1336trattoriailpanino.comEntrees $18.95-$29.95. Taranta210 Hanover St.617-720-0052tarantarist.comEntrees $19-$36. Caffe Vittoria290-296 Hanover St.617-227-7606vittoriacaffe.comSweets $3.50-$5.50. Caffe dello Sport308 Hanover St.617-523-5063caffedellosport.us Sweets $2-$5.50. Maria’s Pastry Shop46 Cross St.617-523-1196northendboston.com/mariasSweets $2.50-$3.50. Where to shopThe Velvet Fly424 Hanover St.617-557-4359 thevelvetfly.com High Gear Jewelry204 Hanover St.617-523-5804Polcari’s Coffee105 Salem St.617-227-0786northendboston.com/polcaricoffee Salumeria Italiana 151 Richmond St.800-400-5916, 617-523-8743salumeriaitaliana.com What to doNorth End Secret Tours617-720-2283northendsecrettours.comFriday and Saturday, $30.

If you go . . .

ERIK JACOBS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

Adriana Munetone atNeptune Oyster.

Where old world and modern mixº NORTH ENDContinued from Page M7

PAT GREENHOUSE/GLOBE STAFF

Visitors hungry for a taste of the old North End can find it in Lucia Ristorante and Bar’s marinara or Galleria Umberto’s pizza.

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Three Graces, an artist was cajol-ing passersby to twirl a hula hoopon their hips as she snapped pho-tos. Elsewhere, we listened tostreet musicians and watched asidewalk artist working on blackand white drawings of localstreet scenes.

You might also get a chance toobserve art-in-progress at Piscat-aqua Fine Arts (23 Ceres St., 207-337-1651), the printmaking stu-dio and gallery opened by artistDon Gorvett about a year and ahalf ago. ‘‘People walk in hereand say it smells like ink,’’ saidSean Hurley, the gallery managerand one of four artists who regu-larly print their work on twolarge etching presses. ‘‘Ignore themess,’’ Hurley cheerfully told visi-tors. ‘‘It’s hard to balance a work-ing studio and a gallery.’’ A few ofhis finely detailed etchings hungbehind the counter, where visi-tors crowded around a tray ofcheese and crackers. But most ofthe wall space is covered withGorvett’s vigorous reductionwoodcut prints of coastal scenes.The gallery, an 1850s warehousesteps from the tugboat docks, fig-

ures in a number of the images.Three Graces and Piscataqua

sit on the harbor edge of the Mar-ket Square shopping district,Portsmouth’s successful tourist-haven makeover of more than adecade ago. Kennedy StudiosGallery & Custom Framing (41Market St., 603-436-7007),which features local artists in itsframe shop, also shares the Mar-ket Square bustle.

But in time-honored fashion,artists are helping to reclaim oneof the city’s down-on-its-luck dis-tricts: historic State and Danielstreets, which fell into neglectwhen skinny Memorial Bridgewas superseded by the Interstate95 span connecting New Hamp-shire and Maine. Gallery ellO(110 State St., 603-433-9110)opened within sight of the oldbridge in September 2007. ‘‘Thisend of town is going through arenaissance,’’ said Glenn Dilan-do, one of the four artist co-own-ers. ‘‘People are discovering us.’’

The gallery, with its ‘‘100 per-cent free speech environment’’sign on the door, ‘‘encapsulatedart magazine’’ vending machinein one corner, and unframedprints hanging from clips on the

walls, just joined the Art ’RoundTown event. ‘‘We have that out-sider vibe about us,’’ says ByrdyDilando, Glenn’s sister and an-other co-owner. ‘‘It’s nice to workwith the other galleries. Every-body is doing something differ-ent.’’

The gallery emphasizes youngand undiscovered artists, such asMargaret Bieniek, who hadturned out for the event in red-and-black tiger-stripe tights anda jersey with more colors than awell-used palette. She’ll have apiece in an upcoming exhibition.‘‘This is a nice place for youngpeople to hang out,’’ she said.

The more established NewHampshire Art Association’sRobert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136State St., 603-431-4230) is just afew doors down from ellO. Thelarge space is divided into threegalleries and usually features thework of member artists. ‘‘Wehave 450 members in NewHampshire, Maine, Vermont,and Massachusetts,’’ said BillieTooley, executive director.

Portsmouth serves as a small-city locus for these widely scat-tered artists. ‘‘I love coming herefor the open galleries,’’ said Sarah

J. Sims, who was exhibiting heracrylic paintings of bright bio-morphic forms. ‘‘I live in Loudonand even in Concord we don’thave anything like this. It’s won-derful. My pieces don’t fit in a lotof New Hampshire settings.’’

Since Deb Thompson openednahcotta gallery (110 CongressSt., 603-433-1705) eight yearsago, she’s been building a marketfor abstract work, featuring bothlocal and national artists. She’salso watched her street, whichwas once Portsmouth’s mainshopping drag, rebound. ‘‘It wasjust coming back when Iopened,’’ she said, listing the vari-ety of shops and restaurants fill-ing once empty storefronts.

In fact, we were disappointedthat many of Portsmouth’s moreinteresting shops didn’t stayopen on gallery night. Restau-rants, on the other hand, werehopping. ‘‘It’s become a traditionin the community,’’ saidThompson. ‘‘Check out what’shappening in the galleries, andthen go out to dinner.’’

Patricia Harris and David Lyoncan be reached at harris.lyon@verizon.net.

Art ’Round Townartroundtown.orgThe first Friday of every monthfrom 5-8 p.m. Check the websitefor information on participatinggalleries and coming exhibitions.Where to eatVictory96 State St.603-766-096096statestreet.comAfter gallery openings, DebThompson often heads to the barto sample small plates such asan artichoke and goat cheesefondue, a farmstead cheeseplate, or hand-cut french frieswith aioli. Sunday, Tuesday,Thursday 5-9 p.m., Friday-Satur-day till 10 (or later). Small plates$5-$13.50, dinner entrees$21-$32.Muddy River Smokehouse21 Congress St.603-430-9582; muddyriver.comArtist Sarah J. Sims is an aficio-nado of the fried pickles, butmany of the locals come for theSt. Louis-style ribs. Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday-

Saturday till 10:30. Sandwichesand barbecue platters $8.99-$15.99.Flatbread Company138 Congress St.603-436-7888flatbreadcompany.comBob Marino likes the atmosphereand the pizzas, made with or-ganic wheat and baked in awood-fired oven. Daily from11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Pizzas$8.25-$18.75.

If you go . . . Friday night lights up the galleries and eateriesº PORTSMOUTHContinued from Page M7

DAVID LYON FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

Margaret Bieniek studiesworks at Gallery ellO.

GL M8 19:37