There was a lot of buzz surrounding the Grand Opening of North Italia Restuarant in South End and being the Italian cuisine aficionado that I am, I was dying to try it!
North Italia is a Cheesecake Factory concept so I was a little skeptical at first, but the food lived up to the hype. After having an Aupair from Italy live with us, we have quickly learned the difference in true authentic Italian food through her cooking. Thus, now I categorize Italian food into two columns. Authentic and “American Italian”.
Authentic Italian is not the red sauce and meatballs we all grew up thinking was Italian, it’s actually pastas prepared simply with light ingredients.
I would say that North Italia is a cross between authentic and American Italian.
Dallas and I visited North Italian right after our first Dr’s appointment for baby Strager. We dined on Crispy Calamari, Arugula & Avacoda Salad, Squid Ink Mafaldine and the house special Bolognese with Tagliatelle noodles.
Our favorites were the arugula salad and squid ink pasta that features a kick of spice. The bolognese was good, but compared to the Mafaldine it lacked the powerful flavor we were hoping for.
All in all, we truly enjoyed our lunch. This is definitely a restaurant to check out.
