Bova’s Bakery

Posted by Edmund in Bakeries & Sweets, Boston, Featured Articles | 0 comments

Oct 24, 10

Cuisine: Italian Baked Goods.

Specialty: Cannoli.

Location: 134 Salem Street, Boston, MA.

I’ve finally arrived at the last stop on my cannoli tasting tour through the North End in Boston: Bova’s Bakery. I would love to say that I saved the best for last, but that unfortunately is not the case here.

Bova’s is one of those bakeries that really exudes the idea of “historical.” It seems like it’s been around for ages, immune to the shifts of time. That feeling is only amplified by the fact that it never closes. That’s right…This bakery is open 24 hours a day, which is certainly not an easy feat for a sweets shop.

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That “historical” feeling continues as you enter the store, which has no eating area, no seats, no tables, and practically no decorations. All you see are stacks of baked goods and different Italian foodstuffs, from meats to cheeses. In fact, it feels more like a butcher shop or a very old-fashioned market than a bakery. But that’s exactly why I was expecting it to be so good—I had heard that Bova’s was the traditional bakery in the North End, immune to the trend towards a touristy, ostentatious, fake “Italian-ness” that is spreading through (and has already consumed) the rest of the North End like wildfire.

What I found, though, was sadly the worst cannoli so far. The problem wasn’t so much any specific factor as the whole thing—nothing seemed to be right. The creams were frosty, without too much flavor to them, though I liked that they weren’t overly sweet. The shells were overly oily, to the point of being cloying, and they didn’t really hold up as you bit into them. Even though they were mini-sized, they just fell apart at the first bite. As an added disappointment, Bova’s doesn’t offer any of the fancier shells and toppings that you would find in other cannoli shops, like Mike’s, to help offset some of that blandness.

For all those reasons, then, I really can’t recommend Bova’s, at least not for cannoli—a true shame, since you don’t normally find a 24 hour bakery, especially one that serves up cannoli.

What I had:

1. Vanilla: First thing I noticed was that the shell was really not up to snuff. It was a mini-shell, and it still was crumbling and falling apart in the most unsatisfying way. Nor was it very flavorful. Instead, it had that heavy, fried taste that leaves an unpleasant oiliness in the mouth. And the cream isn’t great either. It has a very heavy vanilla accent, which is actually nice, but it’s also blandly rich and frosty, largely negating the vanilla flavor. 0.5/5.0. Stay away from this.
2. Chocolate: Again, my cannoli just fell apart and broke, which is surprising considering how small this thing is. Really disappointing. The chocolate cream, to be fair, is better than the vanilla. It still suffers from that overly rich, pudding texture and a slight frostiness that covers up the flavor, but this one seems more balanced, and there’s good chocolate flavor throughout. 1.3/5.0
3. Ricotta: Surprisingly, much, much better than the rest. The shell is still as boring as ever, but you really don’t notice it so much because the cream is so good, even covering up some of that foul, oily aftertaste. The cream really hits the ricotta flavor without overdoing the sugar or the creaminess. The cream is rich, but it’s light and smooth, much more so than some of the other creams in the North End, especially because it lacks the grittiness that many bakeries are fond of leaving in the cream. It’s not phenomenal, but it’s at least something I could really enjoy and a very pleasant surprise after the two previous failures. 2.9

Scores

Taste: 1.3/5.0
Value: 1.5/5.0. Just doesn’t compare to the quality that’s so easily available a couple blocks away.
Overall Score: 1.4/5.0