The Rino(ceros) Adventure

Forget the North End of Boston, East Boston has the best Italian food (and I know Italian) and it comes from the local hot spot at Rino's Place. Located in the heart of a residential neighborhood Rino's is unsuspecting and quite surprising. It has gained some national attention on such shows as The Food Networks Triple D and Phantom Gourmet. 
In order to get to Rino's you have to take the Blue line to the airport stop and then walk 15 minutes into the neighborhood. Rino's is a tiny place, with only 12 tables of 4 and they only take reservations for parties of 6 or more. This place is packed from the time they open to the time they close, and no matter the weather there is a line of people waiting around the corner. Here is my helpful hint so you can enjoy the delicious creations at Rino's GET THERE EARLY! My party and I showed up at 4:55 and the place was packed! All 12 tables were taken by locals. We were greeted at the door and put our name on the list with a cell phone number. They call you when your table is ready, and trust me, you don't want to miss it! We waited a total of a half an hour, and there was even a line around the corner, by the way, it was raining! That is how good this place is, people will wait in the rain for hours, and after my experience I would be one of those people waiting in the rain to get a table.



In addition to the year round stable menu (which you can find on their website) there is the handwritten menu (photo) that has the specials. On the side of each of the items there is one of the more interesting things that Rino's has to offer: the option to get the appetizer's in either half or full portions. I love this idea, mainly because I got to try a couple of more options than normal. 


To start with we had the asparagus with balsamic and goat cheese, the burrata with prosciutto and tomato, and the pumpkin ravioli. This was the best burrata I've had since my time in Padova (where Burrata was created). It was firm on the outside and the perfect liquidy texture on the inside, also the inside had the right creamy flavor which really makes a burrata stand out, compared to buffalo  mozzarella. I love the combination of cheese with prosciutto, and it really started off the meal right. The next appetizer was the Pumpkin Ravioli in a butter sage sauce. Another perfectly executed dish that just brought me back to Mantova, were the dish was created. It was a creamy butter sauce that had a hint of something that I cant place my finger on, but I'm taking an educated guess saying its nutmeg. But that's not my point, everything we had for appetizers was just delectable.


Rino's is known for their home made pasta, and they have a full stable menu with a vast pasta section with such classics as Bolgenese, Pasta al Forno, or Vongole. So we decided to try a few of their pasta varieties.  For the main course we tried the world famous, lobster ravioli in a rosa sauce, (this was what Guy was talking about) a big bowl of clams and mussels and fusili a bolognese. Each of these main dishes came with a side salad, and let me tell you, there is no way anyone could eat all the food they put out on that table. These portions were huge! 


 I think the best thing I had during this course was the sauce on the lobster ravioli (I admit I'm not a huge lobster fan) but this sauce was just unbelievable and something you will have to try to believe. Also inside these raviolis were just chunks of lobster folded into the great mixture of ricotta, these were just heavenly. The mussels and clams were cooked perfectly and the white wine sauce was full of that garlic taste you expect with seafood, I do have to say, I appreciate the idea of putting the bread at the bottom of the bowl, however it absorbed too much of the sauce, and did become soggy quite quickly and left my bowl rather dry when I was looking for sauce to dip the clams and mussels in. The Bolgnese was a classic rendition but does not quite compare to the ravioli.

So its safe to say that after this feast we were too full for dessert, but we left as happy campers!
Now normally this is the part where I tell you whats around the area, however, this part of Boston is extremely residential. There is a bar down the block called Kelly's, which would be a good place to grab a drink and wait for that fateful call. But, I do not recommend walking around this neighborhood especially if you are not familiar with it or if it is late at night.


Final reccomendations: GET EVERYTHING! If thats not an option, start with the Burrata and then go with the Lobster Ravioli and I dare you to see if you have room for dessert or can even finish those portions!


Adventure On!
-Amanda