Boston’s south end

While New York City is famous as a dining haven with landmark establishments like Sardi’s, 21 Club, Per Se and Lutece requiring reservations weeks in advance, its northeastern neighbour, Boston, often falls off the radar. Better known for its many Ivy league universities, fanatical sports fans and the part it played in the American War of Independence, those vaguely familiar with Boston, Massachusetts will recall local favourites like New England clam chowder, fried clams, lobster rolls or roast beef sandwiches when asked to describe the city’s culinary character. This is a bit of a shame, as Boston is in fact home to a host of quirky, eclectic and often very creative and good restaurants. The crowning jewel in Boston’s dining scene, however, has got to be the South End.

Built on a formal tidal marsh during the filling of Boston’s Back Bay and South Bay from the 1830s to 1870s, the South End is the largest extant Victorian neighbourhood in North America and was listed as a Boston Landmark District in 1983. Designed in the 1850s by architect Charles Bulfinch with a series of eleven elliptical shaped residential parks with fountains and cast iron fencing, the neighbourhood, with its pretty cathedrals and green spaces attracted many industrialists and well to do families. These wealthy families built mostly red bricked, bowfront houses in a mixture of Renaissance Revival, Italianate, French Second Empire, Greek Revival, and Queen Anne styles. Despite the varied styles of architecture here, common building materials—red brick and cast iron, gave the neighbourhood great visual unity and character.

FLOUR BAKERY

Chef, baker and bestselling cook book author Joanne Chang is a local hero in the Boston culinary scene, and her mouthwatering pastries and cakes have garnered a loyal following among Bostonians. Her famous Boston cream pie, sticky buns and ginger molasses cookies are addictive and locals almost always come back for more. If you are having a down day and need a little sugar lift, head for the cream filled doughnuts and lemon lust tarts. The bakery cum café is small and the queues are often long, so it can be difficult to find a seat here. If you do manage to park yourself here at lunchtime, try the fresh mozzarella sandwich followed by a milkyway tart—dark chewy caramel and milk chocolate mouse with milk chocolate curls in a tart shell with a creamy and frothy Chai latte. 1595 Washington St., 1617-267-4300, http://flourbakery.com

Excerpt from the April issue of epicure.