There’s no denying that the North End is Boston’s own version of Little Italy: narrow streets made narrower by crowds of people peering into countless salumerias and trattorias, restaurateurs greeting passersby in alluring Italian vernacular. Where else would a stroll on the Freedom Trail lead but to a mecca of fresh pasta, cheese, gelato, and cannoli?
That said, great food is no longer a downtowners-only luxury, nor is it reserved for those with deep pockets. Several months ago, Brookline’s restaurant scene got a little bit better with the introduction of LoBello’s, a petite café specializing in home-style Italian cuisine. Michael Boulos left La Morra, also in Brookline, to offer locals great rustic sandwiches, cooked-to-order pasta, homemade soups, New York–style pizza, and various tempting confections — all at wallet-friendly prices.
Fillings for both hot and cold sandwiches come generously layered between halves of Italian bread from Brookline’s own Clear Flour Bakery — an added perk of an already noteworthy veggie combination ($6.50). Roasted portabella mushrooms, baby spinach, Roma tomatoes, thick slices of fresh mozzarella, and homemade almond-balsamic pesto make squishy summer-squash-and-eggplant combos a happily forgotten lunch of the past. Al dente quills of penne come classically immersed in peppery vodka sauce ($6.50), while three homemade meatballs ($2.50) soak up some of the LoBello family’s famous Sicilian marinara; it’s the same sauce used for dunking various savory sides, including sweet Italian sausage rolls ($3.50). The made-from-scratch tomato bread soup ($3.95/small; $5.50/large) arrived piping hot and full of flavor, and Michael himself delivered it to our cozy bistro table. And despite being more than full, I found that resisting a slice of the buttery cheesecake ($4.50) and the homemade chip-dipped cannoli ($1.50) was out of the question. Suffice it to say, the North End has a run for its money.
LoBello’s, 8 Cypress Street, Brookline | Mon-Sat, 11 am-9 pm | 617.264.4700
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