Not every great restaurant announces itself with fanfare, but Cantina Italiana on Hanover Street in Boston’s North End has a sign that does the talking before you even reach the front door.
It’s the kind of place that earns its reputation one plate of pasta at a time, and it’s been doing exactly that for longer than most restaurants dare to dream about.
The North End is one of those neighborhoods that makes you feel like you’ve traveled somewhere without actually leaving Massachusetts.
The streets are narrow, the buildings are old, and the air carries the kind of aromas that make it genuinely difficult to walk past a restaurant without stopping…