Mangia Calamari! Seafood in the North End. If you are touring Boston, make sure that you put the North End on your list of places to visit. Only a few blocks from the Fanuiel Hall marketplace, the North End is Boston's little Italy. While I have watched in recent years as the many of the traditional Italian markets and restaurants have closed and been replaced by chain stores. There is one place that has remained pretty much unchanged, The Daily Catch.
This little "hole in the wall" restaurant was started in 1973 by the son of a Sicilian immigrant, Paul Freddura. Wanting to start his own seafood business, Paul started selling boxes of fried squid that he purchased from the docks in Boston. With this success he opened his original store. He offered fresh fish for sale and a counter where customers could sit and enjoy raw clams and fried fish. In 1981, his "hole in the wall" restaurant was renovated and became the "Calamari Cafe" of today.
The charm of the Daily Catch is its bustling one room kitchen with with only about 20 seats. Due to its small size this place fills up fast so be prepared to wait if you arrive during peak times. The menu, which is written on a chalk board on the wall, includes only seafood dishes. Their signature meals are the fried calamari appetizer with marinara sauce and black pasta made with squid ink. If you are especially hungry, check out the Lobster Fra Diavolo. You will get to sample a little of everything that the Daily Catch has to offer. While there are many seafood variations I prefer the simple, my favorite is the linguine and scallops with a white sauce.
My only advices is to leave room for desert, but not at the Daily Catch. There are many great cafes in the North End and they will be the subject of future articles. The Daily Catch is located at 323 Hanover Street, which is the main street in the North End. NO credit cards are accepted at this restaurant, CASH ONLY. There are plenty of banks and ATMs in the area. If you have a favorite Italian restaurant in New England, please share it with us. We would love to visit it and write a review!. Mangia Bene!
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