Pete's Blog

Another wonderful childhood memory of the North End was shopping with Mom. As I was posting new recipes, I remembered her favorite butcher shop on Prince Street.

Dad was a warehouse worker at Mystic Automatic Sales in Medford MA. The company distributed and supported vending machines throughout New England.

Ti amo mamma... e manchi tutti i giorni

My last 2 years of high school and a few years beyond as a second job, I worked as a busboy at Giro's Restaurant at the corner of Hanover and Commercial Streets.

Unfortunately, Americans' appreciation of Italian foods is mostly limited to the dozens of commercialized dishes exposed at local Italian restaurants. That's like reading cliff notes...

Nancy and I jumped at the business opportunity to move to Chicago's western suburbs in 1997 to be close to family and grandchildren. We lived in a wonderful community...

A couple of times a month when school was out for summer vacation, mom would call out for me to come home from the small vacant lot turned playground across the street from our apartment...

Residents of any community would be elated to have a short drive to a bakery that mastered the art of making quality crafted artisan breads. Within a 10-minute walk from our apartment...

Soon after we became a couple, Nancy, not shy about anything, asked if I had germ phobia, a pathological fear of contamination and germs. I curiously asked why...

Many of the neighborhood men belonged to a social club on Margaret Street. They paid monthly dues to have a place to play cards or simply socialize with their friends over beer and wine.