abc5

Anyone tried Giacomos in Boston North End, and also agree it's over rated?

Tried it a few months ago once for dinner. Chicken parm, eggplant parm, the usual Italian American staple restaurant dishes...

The chicken, thin cutlet which wasn't juicy. Anyone can tell it was previously prepared and refrigerated (previously fried) and reheated with sauce ladled over it.

The chicken texture is tightens up when it's reheated verus when it's freshly fried. Fried eggplant was decent, tender. Portions for both weren't particulary impressive.

Sauce was very zesty and fresh, but if anyone's tasted base sauces straight out of a large commercial can, it's pretty much it already. Calamari, average, nothing particularly amazing or large portion about it.

Anyone like any other place in North end over Giacomos? don't get me wrong It's very busy they won't miss my business... (I'm thinking those people dunno how to eat however).

I was curious about trying Cantina italiana very nearby, or Panza.

Blumie

Here are eater.com’s most recent North End recommendations. These lists are of course subjective, but I find the eater.com lists to be a good place to start:

https://boston.eater.com/maps/best-r...d-little-italy

Yahtzee

That’s a screwy list. Prezza, Regina and Daily Catch, sure. I do think L’Osteria is a good, non-fancy option. Table, Ernesto, a bunch of bakeries and Famiglia Giorgio, nah.

Boraxo

We just ate at Giacomos and honestly I felt it was almost worth the 35 min. wait. The food was good and the price was relatively low. We had mostly pasta and salads. The only annoyance was somewhat limited menu (my kids were unhappy with no pizza, and they had no bread left) and the cash only nonsense. Note: the wait was much shorter for 2 people. Service was good.

Yahtzee

I haven't been there in more than a decade, but Giacomo's mixed seafood fra diavolo brought me happiness.

Blumie

Agreed. It also brought me happiness to have it at their South End location and avoid the clusterf*ck that is the North End.