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The Basics: Carmelina's North End restaurant information

Carmelina's North End

307 Hanover Street
Boston, MA 02113-1810
617-742-0020

Carmelina's North End restaurant information
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Located on Hanover Street in the heart of the North End, Carmelina's North End (formerly Ristorante Damiano) balances tradition and innovation for a new take on Italian cuisine. The varied menu of artfully presented piatinni (small plates that are perfect for sharing) allows diners to mix and match from an array of seasonal vegetarian, seafood, and meat dishes as well as housemade pasta and risotto. Plates can be creatively paired with over 50 different wines by the glass.

Exposed brick and earth-tone-hued walls give the forty-seat dining room a warm comforting feel for the winter months, while floor-to-ceiling-windows overlooking the North End's busiest thoroughfare give the space an openness that's ideal during the summer. The open kitchen offers diners a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes action.

News and Events at Carmelina's North End restaurant

Taste of the North End Turns Eighteen
Once again, the Taste of the North Ends pulls together some of the neighborhood's best - primarily Italian - restaurants for ...

North End Restaurant Week
With Winter Restaurant Week pretty much wrapped up, where's a frugal foodie supposed to go? 

Merenda Happy Hour at Ristorante Damiano
As Thanksgiving fades to a distant (albeit delicious) memory, chef-owner Damien DiPaola gets ready for the holiday season by rolling ...

Damien DiPaola

Chef at Carmelina's North End

Chef Damien DiPaola at Carmelina's North End

Chef-owner Damien DiPaola's long career in the culinary industry began more than forty years ago - on the very spot where he works today behind the line at Ristorante Damiano. At his family's Caffe Dello Sport, located on Hanover Street in the North End, DiPaola learned the fine art of barista - brewing espresso, waiting on tables, and serving the clientele

Eager to have his own place, DiPaola opened Carmelina's Ristorante, during his junior year at University of Massachusetts-Amherst. His first menu (and many since) took some of its cues from his parents with dishes straight out of his childhood.

His culinary education continued at the Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and across the country - DiPaola owned and operated eight restaurants from Massachusetts to California before coming back to the North End to open Ristorante Damiano in 2008.

In addition to his passion for cooking, DiPaola is a food critic for Boston's North End Scene magazine. He's also got a little acting and producing under his belt with appearances producing and acting on series like Showtime's Brotherhood.

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Dictionary
 
Carpaccio
1. noun Wafer-thin slices of raw beef served cold; named after the Renaissance Venetian painter.
Concassé
1. noun A coarsely chopped or ground mix.
Cremini
1. noun Young portobello mushrooms.
Fra diavolo
1. noun Generally describes tomato-based sauces that are spiced with chiles
Mascarpone
1. noun Ultra-rich, soft cheese known best for its role in tiramisu.
Pancetta
1. noun Cured Italian bacon.
Pesto
1. noun An Italian sauce traditionally made with basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and Romano and Parmesan cheeses.
Polenta
1. noun A slow-cooked cornmeal porridge popular in northern Italy; can be served soupy or firm, sometimes fried.
Porcini
1. noun Smoky, meaty wild mushrooms.
Puttanesca
1. noun Spicy, bold tomato sauce (hence the name, deriving from the Italian word for whore) made distinct with anchovies, capers and black olives.
Risotto
1. noun Italian dish made from rice cooked by intermittently adding small amounts of stock or broth. Other ingredients are added as required.
Shiitake
1. noun Bold and meaty, these are called "black mushrooms" on Chinese menus.