The Italian Express, East Boston, MA

Well, it happened again. I was flipping through the channels AGAIN and I stopped at the Food Network. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives was on. AGAIN. Guy started his piece with the town name, East Boston, and that got me very interested. I wrote an article recently about Rino’s Place which is also from East Boston. I thought this episode might be a rerun. This show does have so many restaurants to highlight that they have made what seems like thousands of episodes. This was not a rerun. This segment was about the Italian Express. This restaurant is located in an ethically dense part of Boston. It looked like any other pizzeria, clean and neat, but no fountain and other things. Impressions can be so wrong. You see, the best food does not have to come from a palatial, ultrahigh overhead place. It is this type of restaurant that has a rabid following that grows and grows. Why? Because the food is that good. That is what matters.

This is a seafood-based e-zine so, I am only going to be writing about seafood from this restaurant. I am absolutely certain that non-seafood items from the Italian Express are top-notch. The video below will also show you. Many restaurants make meatballs and eggplant Parmesan. But so few of them, make them well. The Italian Express does. Just watch the video.

The 2 seafood dishes that my eyes and tastebuds are drawn to are Frutti di Mare (Fruit of the Sea) and Haddlock Margherita.

The Frutti di Mare is a spicy mixture of fresh clams, mussels, shrimp and calamari on top of a pile freshly made pasta.

The Haddock Margherita is Haddlock that was purchased that morning and cooked in a Lemon, Butter, White Wine and Chicken Stock broth. Incredibly tender and tasty without a fishy flavor.

When seafood has a fishy smell or flavor, it is going bad or it already is. You will not ever find that at the Italian Express because all of their seafood is purchased that morning at 7 AM.

So, let’s see, all fresh ingredients with a chef that was taught by his grandmother. A restaurant that would like its customers to return. A friendly, family environment with very reasonable prices. That is a recipe for success. So many restaurants just don’t get that concept. The Italian Express Does.