Carmelina's

Outside Carmelina's...How do I look?

Carmelina's
307 Hanover St
Boston, MA 02113

Okay, so first semester of my FRESHMAN YEAR OF COLLEGE is over? Say what?
Well, my dad and I decided we had to say goodbye to Boston (more me, and with sadness) for a month with a bang, so what better place to go than Carmelina's? After reading the reviews from Yelp, google, and countless other blogs, I called my dad and quote "WE HAVE TO GO THERE, LOOK AT THIS MENU, WE ARE GETTING THE MEATBALLS'. Literally, I was very sad to say goodbye to my 12x20 ft dorm room and twin size bed (haha, not!), but my stomach was growling as I put the pen down and said si-a-nar-a to my first year writing teacher Stace (who by the way lives in the North End...living the dream!). So once my dad FINALLY arrived, we packed up my clothes...i brought home too many, and drove down Storrow Drive to the special place in my heart... you guessed it, the North End.

Mimo's Baked Meatball's (We split the 3rd one)

Again, as fate would have it, we found a parking spot on Hanover (the dynamic duo was back in business) and walked to Carmelina's. We sat down, already knowing what we were getting (we researched the menu like it was our job).

We got bread, with oil and parmesean--very good and fresh. And ordered Mimo's Baked Meatballs. I am completely serious when I say this...best meatballs I have EVER had without a doubt. My dad would completely agree with this, which is saying something people! If you go to Carmelina's, which i HIGHLY recommend you do if you want a place to go, you MUST AND I SAY MUST order the meatballs. You will die and go straight to heaven (JK JK LOL).

The Crazy Alfredo

I then ordered the crazy alfredo for my main dish, and my dad, after sadly hearing that the Carmelina was not on the lunch menu (tears), ordered the Palermitana, which he said was amazing. It was Rapi greens, garlic, pignoli nuts, sundried tomatoes, currannts, touch of hot, and Capellini for about $14. 
I tried a bite as well and was thoroughly pleased. Sorry peeps, but no picture of the dish, use that imagination of yours!

The Crazy Alfredo was chicken, sausage, sweet roasted red peppers, in a spicy Alfredo sauce, with fettucine. And I think around $14 for lunch, its 18 for dinner. Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of sausage so I just didn't eat those pieces, but everything about that dish was stellar. It was a tad spicy, but defintely in the best way possible. Definitely an interesting take on the typical Alfredo dish, and in the right direction. I loved the sweet roasted red peppers, they added the perfect balance for the dish. Also, perfect portion size for lunch after having some bread and meatballs...I was a happy type of stuffed.

 The atmosphere of Carmelina's is modern mixed with old world, as you can see the pictures on the wall. I loved the atmosphere...one of my favorites so far. (La Galleria 33 still is on the top for atmosphere, sorry Carmelina's!)

You can see the kitchen, and I imagine eating at the bar would be a very cool experience for two. We still enjoyed looking out the windows at the passerbys on Hanover St.

 

 

Okay, so if you couldn't tell by now, I absolutely loved this restaurant, and it's been one of my favorites!

 

Oh, and price--very reasonable for lunch, and even for dinner. Either way, its worth it!

 

Rating:

Food: 5

Price: $$ (for lunch)

Atmosphere:4.5

Service:4.5

Overall: 4.7