Boston Foodie Tours

09/09/2024

The new Yvonne's and Coquette sibling debuts in the Seaport in September.

07/09/2024

Food tours cross generations, and, once again, our guests are good examples. This wonderful son and his adventurous mom met in Boston to enjoy enjoy various activities, including our North End & Boston Public Market Tour.

The holidays will be upon us soon. What are you going to gift and/or enjoy with your loved ones? Add us to your list! Gift cards and tickets are available at www.bostonfoodietours.com.

05/09/2024

Lydia Shire's son, Alex Pineda, is making his own mark on the North Shore.

Come for Latin flavors from Alex Pineda (famed chef Lydia Shire’s son) and Noe Ortega, complete with a massive display case filled with sardines from around the world.

04/09/2024

Sicily is calling us. Is it calling you, too?

DECEMBER 1ST is the deadline to register for our culinary trip to Sicily & Southern Italy with industry leader, EF Go Ahead Tours. I've enjoyed several culinary trips throughut Europe and Mexico, and, EF stood out above the others. They bring the comfort, convenience, and professionalism that we seek for both ourselves, and for our guests.

Access the full itinerary, and the registration form at https://groups.goaheadtours.com/tours/italygiannattasio, or via our website at www.bostonfoodietours.com. Note, prices are rising again soon. Payment plans available.

04/09/2024

Cost-cutting measures that we're seeing elsewhere in the hotel industry as well. Though not announced publicly, the Whitney Hotel's Peregrine restaurant is now run in-house, though, still promoting the dishes of award-winning chef, Josh Lewin of Juliet.

The three venues are slated to close at the end of their lease on Oct. 31. After that, the spaces will be “re-imagined and re-concepted.”

04/09/2024

The agreement ends weeks of closed-door talks between House and Senate leaders, who proposed different versions of a bill that would add anywhere from 205 new licenses to more than 260.

02/09/2024

Made her laugh, and fed her, too!!! No wonder why she enjoys this job.

Could not have made it through the holiday weekend crowd without this rock star. Beth and I teamed yesterday to host a large group of North End Neighborhood Tour guests. Despite the inevitable unexpected hiccups along the way, together, we didn’t miss a beat. Couldn’t be more grateful for our marvelous, talented team that keeps this little engine that could afloat.

02/09/2024

Thanks to Steve and Carolyn for their tremendous support of Boston Foodie Tours throughout the years. We’re already looking forward to next time!!!

Family and friends planning to visit? We’d love to host your gang, too. Tickets and gift cards are available at www.bostonfoodietours.com.

01/09/2024

On a whim!

What do you do if you’re celebrating your 20th anniversary, and need to come up with a creative gift? You book an “On a Whim” trip. Discover your destination at the airport, and your itinerary upon arrival. We were thrilled to be part of this couple’s celebration, and to introduce them to their first food tour experience.

31/08/2024

We love being part of Bachelor Party weekends, and today was no exception. Thanks for joining us on our North End & Boston Public Market Tour. And special thanks to the parents (past guests) who recommended Boston Foodie Tours.

31/08/2024

Nice work, Mom & Dad.

When your parents’ friends introduced them to Boston Foodie Tours, and your parents, in turn, encouraged you to include its North End & Boston Public Market Tour in your friend’s Bachelor Party weekend.

31/08/2024

Need a sofa for the San Genaro Feast? No problem, ya just raid St.Leonard’s Church!

26/08/2024

23/08/2024

How much fun were today’s North End Neighborhood Tour guests? TOO much fun, can you tell?

Time and time again, our fun and food-loving guests are simply the best. Come and join the fun. Tickets and gift cards for future tours are available at www.bostonfoodietours.com.

19/08/2024

18/08/2024

Fun fact: When it’s just the girls, we pivot to a “Sip, Savot, & Shop” tour, as we did with this Tennessee family yesterday. Includes up to three of our favorite North End boutiques, and several memorable tastings, including a pasta finale.

Can we arrange a “ladies only” “Sip, Savor, and Shop tour for your women’s group? Contact us at [email protected] to arrange.

17/08/2024

Access matters, and we were happy to offer it yesteday to this wonderful visiting family as it enjoyed a private North End Neighborhood Tour. And guess who requested a food tour? Their sweet teenager son!

Special thanks to our restaurant partner, Ristorante Limoncello, which keeps a small access ramp tucked away near the front door, and to the terrific team at Carmelina’s for setting up the family with a high-top table at opening for a weekend lunch.

16/08/2024

In other restaurant news, Swingers, a British golf club, tees up for a Back Bay debut, and Blondie’s opens in Brighton.

16/08/2024

Join 50+ Boston Gal Pals!!!

Hosted a social group of lovely 50+ women at Scampo’s Dine Out Boston yesterday. The food was delicious, and the company even better.

At Boston Foodie Tours, we’re expanding our brand to carve a non-threatening,space for local age-positive women 50+ who would like an opportunity to meet each other via Boston-based culinary events. Sound like you, or someone you know? Subscribe to Boston Gal Pals at www.bostonfoodietours.com for updates.

15/08/2024

14/08/2024

Welcome to Boston’s North End, the greatest inner-city Italian community in the United States. Take a walk with us through this historic neighborhood with F...

13/08/2024

Ducklings Sculptor’s Proposed North End Project Would Tell the Story of Immigration
by Dan Murphy

Nancy Schön, who brought Robert McCloskey’s classic children’s book, ‘Make Way for Ducklings,’ to life in the Public Garden with her iconic sculpture, is now hoping to
tell the story of immigration with another work of public art proposed for the grounds of St. Leonard Church in the North End.

The project, called ‘Noble Journey Sculpture: Italy to America,’ will comprise a bronze pathway imprinted with sets of footprints leading into the entrance of St. Leonard
Church – the first Italian Catholic Church in New England, and which, today, is the congregation of Sacred Heart and St. Stephen Church, St. Mary Chapel, and St. John’s
parochial school.

Once installed, the sculpture will allow ancestors of the church’s earliest members to literally ‘walk’ in the footsteps of their immigrant forebearers. It will symbolize the trek
that Italians and other immigrants took after crossing the Atlantic between the 1850s and the 1920s, including the Italian immigrants who built St. Leonard Church in 1873.

“We’re all immigrants, so it’s not just Italians,” Schön, now 95, told this reporter. “[The project] represents how we’re all immigrants and follow in each other’s
footsteps and stand on each other’s shoulders, so it’s a way to have a continuum from one generation to another. It’s them being able to walk in their ancestors’ footprints, so
that’s what it’s all about.”

In researching the project, Schön spoke with cobblers to discover how their business had changed over the past 150 years. What she learned, she said, is that “footprints are
basically the same and have been for shoemakers” throughout the entire time, except for the growing prevalence of women in high heels over the years.

The sculpture’s pathway will be flanked on both sides by black, metal railings, topped with brass lanterns, while two white life-preservers emblazoned with ‘USS North End’
in black lettering would be affixed to both railings.

The ‘Noble Journey’ project was initiated by Schön, together with Fr. Michael Della Penna of St. Leonard Church, and Dr. Michael Annuziata of the Friends of the North End, an unincorporated group of around 300 current and one-time neighborhood residents. Following Dr. Annuziata’s unexpected death on Feb. 28 of last year, a project team was initiated by Schön; Fr. Della Penna; and Dr. Anthony Cortese, project coordinator for the nonprofit North End Historical Society, to shepherd the process forward.

“When Mike Annunziata told me about this project, I knew had to find a way to represent a universal idea of people seeking a new and better life for their families and future
generations,” said Schön in a statement on the project. “We represent the confluence of our cultural beliefs and our religious ethics through the footsteps of our ancestors
leading directly to the church they built. We hope it gives continuity for generations to come as it symbolizes the path Italian immigrants walked as they crossed the Atlantic to
the U.S.”

In the project’s nascent stages, Fr. Della Penna said Dr. Annuziata contacted him and broached the idea of creating something that would be “a positive affirmation of faith of
the people who came over from Italy, especially in the early part of the [20th] century and as a memorial to them.”

“He approached me with his idea for [creating] a memorial for Italian immigrants so that we could celebrate and honor their journey, their coming over, especially given that
St. Leonard was the first church built by Italian immigrants in New England,” added Fr. Della Penna.

Before Dr. Annuziata ultimately reached out to Schön to try to enlist her for the project, Fr. Della Penna and Dr. Annuziata met several times and exchanged ideas on the
shape that it might take.

“I thought the project was ripe, considering at the time, we were having difficulties in Christopher Columbus Park,” said Fr. Della Penna about the aftermath of an incident in June of 2020 when the statue of Columbus, installed inside the waterfront park in 1979, was beheaded in an apparent act of vandalism. “I was hoping to find a place [for the proposed project] that would be secure to perpetuate the legacy of the Italian heritage that we celebrate and felt that this could galvanize the neighborhood and
be a means to bring people together.

Of the project, Fr. Della Penna said, “For me, this is not only a cultural and historical work of art that tells the story of the millions of people who immigrated to the Unites States are also a beautiful means of affirming their faith, the most valuable asset they declared at the border. It was their faith that they carried to the country, and which carried them. “In this way, it is a testament to the power of faith inherent in all religions, which empowers us to navigate difficulties by strengthening our relationship with God. This is truly a Noble Journey. Ultimately, it is more than a historical monument, but one which I hope inspires all people to develop and deepen their relationship with God so that their future will be fruitful and grounded in the truth,” added Fr. Della Penna.

When Fr. Della Penna and Dr. Cortese first visited Schön’s West Newton home studio in the spring of 2023, Fr. Della Penna said she showed them a scale-model maquette she had created for the project, which illustrated “her innovative way in which the people and tourists who were visiting could walk in the actual footsteps of our ancestors and the immigrants who came over.”

Fr. Della Penna added, “I could see that this sculpture was a common thread in her other work, mainly this invitational, engaging means of making a work of art dynamic and educational but, most importantly, experiential.”

Dr. Cortese, a former North Ender with long-standing family connections to St. Leonard Church, was initially recruited for the project by Dr. Annuziata and Victor Passacantilli, the other leader of the Friends of the North End. When a nonprofit sponsor needed to be identified for fundraising purposes, Dr. Cortese reached out to Tom Damigella, president of the North End Historical Society, and asked about his group taking the project under its auspices.

Damigella readily agreed, and NEHS is now the 501(c)(3) coordinator, a partner, and the fundraising leader for ‘The Noble Journey,’ which in turn takes its name from a year-long project that Damigella’s daughter, Jackie, completed years ago in high school about the immigration and life of her Gaetan and Sicilian grandparents.

For his part, Damigella reached out to Elio LoRusso of Somerville Ornamental Iron Work. LoRusso, who was baptized at St. Leonard Church (and whose parents were married there as well), and he, in turn, offered his services for the project pro bono.
“It’s a wonderful, feel-good story about how people feel about this community and how it means so much to them, as it does to Tom and me,” said Dr. Cortese of the project,
which will be a gift to St. Leonard Church from the NEHS, the Friends of the North End fraternal social organization, current and former North End residents, businesses, and non-profit organizations, among other donors.

Now targeted for installation next summer, the ‘Noble Journey’ sculpture now has a projected cost of $120,000; and since the fundraising campaign kicked off in the middle
of last summer, it has to date raised over $50,000 from around 145 organizations and individuals, with commitments for an additional $10,000 in donations, toward that
goal.

Visit https://www.northendboston.org/noble-journey-sculpture to support ‘Noble Journey Sculpture: Italy to America,’ and to learn more about the project.

13/08/2024

Very exciting. More wonderful public art created by Nanch Schon of Make Way for Ducklings statues fame in the Boston Public Garden

Ducklings Sculptor’s Proposed North End Project Would Tell the Story of Immigration
by Dan Murphy

Nancy Schön, who brought Robert McCloskey’s classic children’s book, ‘Make Way for Ducklings,’ to life in the Public Garden with her iconic sculpture, is now hoping to
tell the story of immigration with another work of public art proposed for the grounds of St. Leonard Church in the North End.

The project, called ‘Noble Journey Sculpture: Italy to America,’ will comprise a bronze pathway imprinted with sets of footprints leading into the entrance of St. Leonard
Church – the first Italian Catholic Church in New England, and which, today, is the congregation of Sacred Heart and St. Stephen Church, St. Mary Chapel, and St. John’s
parochial school.

Once installed, the sculpture will allow ancestors of the church’s earliest members to literally ‘walk’ in the footsteps of their immigrant forebearers. It will symbolize the trek
that Italians and other immigrants took after crossing the Atlantic between the 1850s and the 1920s, including the Italian immigrants who built St. Leonard Church in 1873.

“We’re all immigrants, so it’s not just Italians,” Schön, now 95, told this reporter. “[The project] represents how we’re all immigrants and follow in each other’s
footsteps and stand on each other’s shoulders, so it’s a way to have a continuum from one generation to another. It’s them being able to walk in their ancestors’ footprints, so
that’s what it’s all about.”

In researching the project, Schön spoke with cobblers to discover how their business had changed over the past 150 years. What she learned, she said, is that “footprints are
basically the same and have been for shoemakers” throughout the entire time, except for the growing prevalence of women in high heels over the years.

The sculpture’s pathway will be flanked on both sides by black, metal railings, topped with brass lanterns, while two white life-preservers emblazoned with ‘USS North End’
in black lettering would be affixed to both railings.

The ‘Noble Journey’ project was initiated by Schön, together with Fr. Michael Della Penna of St. Leonard Church, and Dr. Michael Annuziata of the Friends of the North End, an unincorporated group of around 300 current and one-time neighborhood residents. Following Dr. Annuziata’s unexpected death on Feb. 28 of last year, a project team was initiated by Schön; Fr. Della Penna; and Dr. Anthony Cortese, project coordinator for the nonprofit North End Historical Society, to shepherd the process forward.

“When Mike Annunziata told me about this project, I knew had to find a way to represent a universal idea of people seeking a new and better life for their families and future
generations,” said Schön in a statement on the project. “We represent the confluence of our cultural beliefs and our religious ethics through the footsteps of our ancestors
leading directly to the church they built. We hope it gives continuity for generations to come as it symbolizes the path Italian immigrants walked as they crossed the Atlantic to
the U.S.”

In the project’s nascent stages, Fr. Della Penna said Dr. Annuziata contacted him and broached the idea of creating something that would be “a positive affirmation of faith of
the people who came over from Italy, especially in the early part of the [20th] century and as a memorial to them.”

“He approached me with his idea for [creating] a memorial for Italian immigrants so that we could celebrate and honor their journey, their coming over, especially given that
St. Leonard was the first church built by Italian immigrants in New England,” added Fr. Della Penna.

Before Dr. Annuziata ultimately reached out to Schön to try to enlist her for the project, Fr. Della Penna and Dr. Annuziata met several times and exchanged ideas on the
shape that it might take.

“I thought the project was ripe, considering at the time, we were having difficulties in Christopher Columbus Park,” said Fr. Della Penna about the aftermath of an incident in June of 2020 when the statue of Columbus, installed inside the waterfront park in 1979, was beheaded in an apparent act of vandalism. “I was hoping to find a place [for the proposed project] that would be secure to perpetuate the legacy of the Italian heritage that we celebrate and felt that this could galvanize the neighborhood and
be a means to bring people together.

Of the project, Fr. Della Penna said, “For me, this is not only a cultural and historical work of art that tells the story of the millions of people who immigrated to the Unites States are also a beautiful means of affirming their faith, the most valuable asset they declared at the border. It was their faith that they carried to the country, and which carried them. “In this way, it is a testament to the power of faith inherent in all religions, which empowers us to navigate difficulties by strengthening our relationship with God. This is truly a Noble Journey. Ultimately, it is more than a historical monument, but one which I hope inspires all people to develop and deepen their relationship with God so that their future will be fruitful and grounded in the truth,” added Fr. Della Penna.

When Fr. Della Penna and Dr. Cortese first visited Schön’s West Newton home studio in the spring of 2023, Fr. Della Penna said she showed them a scale-model maquette she had created for the project, which illustrated “her innovative way in which the people and tourists who were visiting could walk in the actual footsteps of our ancestors and the immigrants who came over.”

Fr. Della Penna added, “I could see that this sculpture was a common thread in her other work, mainly this invitational, engaging means of making a work of art dynamic and educational but, most importantly, experiential.”

Dr. Cortese, a former North Ender with long-standing family connections to St. Leonard Church, was initially recruited for the project by Dr. Annuziata and Victor Passacantilli, the other leader of the Friends of the North End. When a nonprofit sponsor needed to be identified for fundraising purposes, Dr. Cortese reached out to Tom Damigella, president of the North End Historical Society, and asked about his group taking the project under its auspices.

Damigella readily agreed, and NEHS is now the 501(c)(3) coordinator, a partner, and the fundraising leader for ‘The Noble Journey,’ which in turn takes its name from a year-long project that Damigella’s daughter, Jackie, completed years ago in high school about the immigration and life of her Gaetan and Sicilian grandparents.

For his part, Damigella reached out to Elio LoRusso of Somerville Ornamental Iron Work. LoRusso, who was baptized at St. Leonard Church (and whose parents were married there as well), and he, in turn, offered his services for the project pro bono.
“It’s a wonderful, feel-good story about how people feel about this community and how it means so much to them, as it does to Tom and me,” said Dr. Cortese of the project,
which will be a gift to St. Leonard Church from the NEHS, the Friends of the North End fraternal social organization, current and former North End residents, businesses, and non-profit organizations, among other donors.

Now targeted for installation next summer, the ‘Noble Journey’ sculpture now has a projected cost of $120,000; and since the fundraising campaign kicked off in the middle
of last summer, it has to date raised over $50,000 from around 145 organizations and individuals, with commitments for an additional $10,000 in donations, toward that
goal.

Visit https://www.northendboston.org/noble-journey-sculpture to support ‘Noble Journey Sculpture: Italy to America,’ and to learn more about the project.

10/08/2024

We may have had TOO much fun on today’s Bachelor Party North End & Boston Public Market Tour.

First they lifted the groom-to-be, and then they lifted me!

07/08/2024

Had ourselves a little fun on today’s North End & Boston Public Market Tour.

Come for the best bites, and stay for the laughs with Boston Foodie Tours. Gift cards and tickets are available for future tours at www.Bostonfoodietours.com.