Article by: Jennifer Hoare
Boston’s North End is known for its tiny restaurants and cafes that feature authentic Italian cooking, but unfortunately, Artu Rosticerria falls a couple meatballs short of a good spaghetti dinner. Sure, Artu gets part of the North End dining experience right with its dim lighting, relaxed atmosphere, and Italian music, but what about the most important aspect? What about the food?
Walking into Artu on a Tuesday evening, the restaurant seems dead and all too quiet compared to its seemingly cloned competitors, which begin to fill up with hungry customers. Artu is tucked away on Prince Street near the corner of Hanover Street, and its cove-like geographical placement works against it. It is lifeless inside, a rarity for the popular dining destination that has seen many finer days.
A walk through a modest yet classy bar area leads to the dining room, its décor meeting any expectation one would have for an Italian eatery. Smokey purple walls adorned with colorful acrylic paintings are contrasted by plain white tablecloths featuring a typical place setting, including a bread plate that never went to any good use. Where was the olive oil? Did the server, really not hear questions of absent oil? Regardless, the bread was happily eaten. After all, it was fresh.
An antipasto appetizer was served, and for me, it was the best part of the meal. Being a vegetarian, I was very pleased with the medley of fresh and grilled vegetables (including peppers, tomatoes, asparagus, and a few pieces of broccoli) and cheeses (including fresh parmesan and fresh mozzarella). I picked around the prosciutta, which seemed to be well-liked by the carnivores of the group. A couple of bite-sized arancini (fried rice balls) also came with the antipasto, and it was my good fortune to try one of the few flavorful treats. The only down side to the appetizer component of the dinner was that the appetizer plates looked like they were old and in storage for 5 years. Clear, plastic, scratched plates were an unpleasant surprise, but then again the tip to this meal was included in the first place.
The actual dinner was not a good experience for me. I ordered the Melanzane Parmigiana, also known as eggplant parm. Eggplant parmesan is really a hit-or-miss type of food, and Artu’s version was a definite miss. It seemed as though a microwave was the main means for cooking this dish. The texture was soggy and nothing about the taste was fresh. If anything, Artu needs to get some “fresher frozen eggplant” (what an oxymoron) because whatever they’re serving tastes old. It was also disappointing that Artu does not serve a side of pasta with their parmesan dishes (eggplant, veal, and chicken) as most Italian restaurants do. Maybe if they had, the pasta would have overshadowed or distracted from the taste of the eggplant.
Dessert was a pleasant surprise, and it should be known that Artu has fantastic crème brule. I was expecting something like a Jello pudding cup, but this was actual custard! It was incredibly flavorful, but not too sweet; rich, but not too thick. Overall, it was some of the best crème brule I’ve ever had.
The Artu experience could have been better, but wasn’t half bad. Like many North End restaurants, it is becoming more of a bar scene than a restaurant (the bar was filling up and the smell of booze slapped your face as you left the place). For this reason, perhaps not enough attention was given to our food. Maybe the Artu experience is better for smaller groups of people that demand attention from our server, who was attentive in filling our water but otherwise oblivious. After all, we are a low-maintenance group. Maybe the chef wasn’t on point that night when he cooked the eggplant. Perhaps it’s just that Artu is better for meat eaters, who have a lot more options on the menu. To that end, I ask the chef this: Where is the love for vegetarians? We have working taste buds too!
