Stoneham Sun: Nebo

My new column of "A Passionate Foodie" can be found in the April 28 issue of the Stoneham Sun newspaper. This is a weekly column that concentrates on reviews of local restaurants though it also sometimes touches on other food and wine topics.

The new column has been published today and will be available online soon. The new article is a restaurant review of Nebo, an Italian place in the North End which has a connection to Stoneham. The owners, Carla and Christine Pallotta, both once lived in Stoneham and attended Stoneham High. Their food is delicious and you definitely should make a visit to Nebo.

If you have any questions or comments about my column, feel free to add them here.

Dine with passion.

Nebo: Two Sisters, One Delicious Cuisine

Located on the outskirts of the North End, Nebo may not get the foot traffic that you'll find on Hanover Street. But as it is so close to the TD Garden, it is a popular spot for those attending sporting events or other Garden events. If you have never eaten there, you need to make an effort to dine there, and savor their delicious cuisine. I had been remiss, and not eaten there until recently, when I was invited to the restaurant and got to meet the owners, Carla and Christine Pallotta.

Carla (on the right) and Christine Pallotta, sisters, previously owned a hair salon in Reading for 23 years. I should also note that they lived in Stoneham for a number of years, and I even went to high school with Christine. After all that time with the salon, they started to grow bored, and wanted a new challenge. They started to consider opening their own restaurant, in the North End, where they had spent many years of their life.

Everything seemed to come together quite fast, and they opened Nebo in June 2005. Thus their fifth anniversary is just around the corner, an admirable achievement. Nebo is an acronym for "North End BOston." Many of their recipes derive from their grandmother and mother, though neither ever wrote down anything. So, prior to the restaurant opening, Carla and Christine scrambled to try to write down recipes while watching their mother prepare various dishes. Much of the cuisine reflects the region of Puglia, which is said to be the "cuisine of peasants" as they would use whatever ingredients were available in their cooking.

Tradition is very important to Carla and Christine. For example, they use rolling pins to make their pasta rather than a machine. Their father had done the same, even making rolling pins out of old broom handles. The sisters also shop locally in the North End, in some of the same places their parents once patronized.

Carla and Christine wanted to create a restaurant of small plates, where diners could share with each other. They did not think there was any other restaurant in the North End that specialized in such. Their motto is "Simplicity demands the finest ingredients" and they seem to follow this motto very closely. In addition, all of their pasta, pizza dough and bread is made fresh daily in house.

I found both Carla and Christine to be very personable and passionate women, truly devoted to their restaurant and desirous of providing delicious and high quality cuisine. They were also very down to earth, fun to chat with, and genuine.

The restaurant is both casual and elegant, with lots of natural wood and brick. They can seat about 120 people, and also have a long bar, marble topped, with plasma televisions. It is a place you can bring a date, your family, or a group of guys prior to a Boston Bruins game.

They have a fully stocked bar, with specialty cocktails, including their own Sangria. I am very particular about my Sangria, and did enjoy theirs. They also have about 19 wines, all Italian, available by the glass ($7-$14). Their wine list by the bottle, also all Italian, has many selections in the $30s, as well as higher-end wines like fine Barolos. So you can find plenty of reasonably priced choices.

The food menu includes Antipasti (averaging $10-$15), Insalate, Carne, Bruschetta, and Handmade Pasta ($18-$21). They serve over 20 different types of Pizza ($11-$17) and you can also customize your own. Whatever your preferences, you should find something here which appeals to you.

It is also important to add that they have a lengthy Gluten free menu. They created this menu after learning one of their friends had Celiac disease, and they investigated the disease further. Nebo is probably one of the few Boston restaurants to have such an extensive gluten free menu.

So what about the food? I was impressed.

The Arancini ($10) were porcini mushroom & mozzarella stuffed rice balls drizzled in chestnut honey. The honey seems an odd choice, as usually arancini have a red sauce accompaniement, but it actually worked. The aracini themselves had a nice crispy coating with a soft, cheesy interior and an earthy bite. The sweetness of the honey did not overwhelm, and made an interesting counterpart to the earthiness from the mushrooms.

The Burrata ($15) was a cream-filled mozzarella with Proscuitto di Parma and a balsamic fig glaze. The quality of the ingredients was quite evident, from the creamy delights of the burrata to the salty tang of the Prosciutto and the sweetness of the balsamic. A simple dish elevated by the fine ingredients.

The Salumi Misti ($13/$27) was a plate of prosciutto di parma, bresaola, hot capicola, abruzzese sausage, formaggi and pepperonata. Once again, a simple dish with high quality ingredients. It will bring out your inner carnivore. The pepperonata, which is homemade, was delicious, with a nice spicy kick.

I cannot fail to mention their homemade potato bread, which was a perfect accompaniement to these antipasti. For a bread lover like me, this was quite tasty. I could have just made a meal of the bread, antipasti and some wine.

The Timballo di Melanzana ($13) was an eggplant and mozzarella timbale in a fresh tomato sauce. I am usually not a fan of eggplant, though I have been a couple places where I have very much enjoyed it. I have to add Nebo to that list now. It was very tender, with plenty of melted mozzarella and a delicious red sauce.

One of the Specials of the evening was a Veal Milanese dish, which is buried beneath the arugula, cheese and tomatoes. There actually was plenty of very tender, thin sliced veal with a light, crispy coating. The veal was not tough in any way, and was prepared just right. There was a chicken milanese available as well and I suspect it would have been equally as good.

I had to try the Pappardelle alla Bolognese ($19), which is a dish I often use as a standard in assessing Italian restaurants. Their Bologonese is a blend of slow cooked veal, pork and beef with tomato, cream, and pecorino romano. As you can see, it was a very meaty sauce (a big plus) and the taste was exquisite, just a proper blend of harmonious flavors. A hearty dish, sure to satisfy any hunger.

Then we moved onto a few pizzas, which are all good-sized (easily serving 2-3 people) with a thin crust. The Michael Diavolo ($15) comes with pepperoni, bacon, traditional sauce, and mozzarella. I very much enjoyed the red sauce, and all of the elements of the pizza worked well. As a pizza lover, this definitely satisfied me, and I think it is a very good value too. The Quattro Formaggi ($15), a blend of fontina, gorgonzola, provolone, mozzarella, was another winner, also showing that the pizza did not need red sauce to be delicious.

The most interesting pizza though was the Pizza con Patate ($16), which contains pancetta, golden potato slices, gorgonzola, rosemary, evoo, and mozzarella. The flavors on this pizza really stood out, especially the gorgonzola and rosemary, yet none of them overwhelmed. The potatoes added a nice texture and taste to the pizza, and the pancetta added a bit of smoky saltiness. You definitely should try this pizza.

Yet my feast was not over, as dessert was still to come.

The mound of Zeppole was showered with powdered sugar. And though these fried treats were plentiful and good, I think they could have used a dipping sauce, like melted chocolate or even caramel sauce. On their own, they were a bit plain.

I am not a fan of Ricotta Pie but this actually did not taste too bad to me. It had a firm texture, with a nice creaminess. I believe that if you do like Ricotta pie, then this would very much appeal to you.

My favorite of the desserts was the Christoforo pizza ($13), which is sweet pizza dough topped with chocolate, nutella and hazelnuts. Sweet pizza you ask? Yes, it works very well, a delightful blend of sweet crust with chocolate and hazelnut flavors. It was not overly sweet, and made for a great ending to my meal.

Service was excellent. Overall, I was impressed with the food, as well as with Carla and Christine. I have often cited my love for the small plates concept, and Nebo delivers on that. With their high quality ingredients, even the simplest of dishes is a delight. Their pizzas alone are reason enough to dine here. So take a detour from Hanover Street and find your way to Nebo.

Nebo
90 North Washington Street
(North End)
Boston, MA
Phone: 617-723-NEBO (6326)

Da Vinci Ristorante: Dining Out For Life

Da Vinci Ristorante will be taking part in Boston’s first annual Dining Out for Life event this Thursday. For one special night, Da Vinci and nearly a dozen other Boston restaurants (including KO Prime, Picco, the Melting Pot and Bambara) will kindly donate 25% of their total sales for the evening to help local organization Cambridge Cares about AIDS (CCA) continue their cutting edge, community-based programming into the future.

Chef Peppino of Da Vinci invites guests to toast in the name of charity while dining over his recently unveiled spring menu, a three-course prix fixe featuring seasonally spectacular blends of both Italian and Indian cuisine. Da Vinci will spotlight their Dining Out for Life experience with a special host, drag diva extraordinaire Abby Cummings. This familiar face will be on-hand to pull out chairs, raffle off prizes and throw back a few cocktails with guests throughout the course of the evening.

When: Thursday, April 29th from 5:30pm to 10:00pm

Cost: The three-course dinner is available at $35 per person.

Menu: You get to create your own three-course meal from their new Spring menu. Choose your own Primi, Secondi and Dolci. So you are not limited in your choices like some other pre fixe menus. Some of the pricier dishes have an upcharge.

Reservations: Pllease call 617-350-0007

Rant: Dry Cupcakes

There has been a surge of cupcake mania, from Cupcake Camp to the opening of numerous small, cupcake boutiques. Often, for $3 or more, you can purchase a relatively small cupcake, topped with a mound of sweet frosting. Each such cupcake spot has its avid fans, but I am usually very puzzled by the admiration. Why do so many of those cupcakes taste so dry to me?

I think a good cupcake should be moist, enjoyable even without any frosting. Is that really so much to ask? There is plenty of advice online for the home cook on how to make a moist cupcake. But it seems that most cupcake stores can't seem to make a moist cupcake. So what is the problem? Are they baking them too long? Do they sit on the display shelves too long? Are their recipes just bad? Or is it their intent, to produce a dry cupcake?

Sometimes I feel as if the majority of people prefer dry cupcakes, which I don't want to believe to be true.. That seems to be the only rationale explanation for the popularity of some of these cupcake boutiques. Can someone help me with my dilemma? Can someone explain why dry cupcakes get so many raves? Or do you forgive the sin of a dry cucpcake if you enjoy the frosting so much?

There are moist cupcakes available, but it seems more and more difficult to find them. I hope they are not a dying breed, though they seem endangered. As long as people support stores making dry cupcakes, then moist ones will be pushed to the wayside.

Stand up and be heard. Demand moist cupcakes!

Museum of Science: Food, Glorious Food: Our Palate vs. Our Planet?

The Museum of Science will soon host what promises to be a fascinating discussion concerning the balance between the food we love and the environment we desire to protect. On Friday, May 7, at 7pm, come to the Museum of Science for "Food, Glorious Food: Our Palate vs. Our Planet?"

The panel will consist of three well-known food lovers, including: Joanne Chang (pastry chef/owner, Flour Bakery and Café; chef/owner, Myers+Chang), Corby Kummer (senior editor, The Atlantic Monthly; host, The Atlantic Food Channel; author, The Pleasures of Slow Food) and Helene York (director, Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation).

They will explore the relationship between our love affair with food and our desire to protect the planet. Join them for a conversation about how we can radically redesign what we eat to help the Earth without sacrificing the joy, flavor, and glorious experience of eating food. There will be a book signing after the discussion.

There is no cost for this event but seating is limited. Passes are available in the Museum lobby beginning at 5:45 p.m. on the day of the program. First come, first served. Museum members may reserve a limited number of seating passes in advance by calling between 9am-5pm, Monday or Tuesday the week of the program only: 617-589-3169.