Caffe Graffiti

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

Cuisine: Italian and American
Location: 64 Cross St, Boston, MA 02113

I’ve already spoken of my cannoli expedition through the North End. I planned out a perfect trip through all the most famous bakeries in the area, trying to find the holy grail of cannolis.

The way wasn’t always all that smooth, though. As a traveler, one of the things you find out is that it’s not all that simple to go out eating and drinking all day and escape with no consequences at all. So, after having my fair share of Italian sodas, Mother Nature eventually called, and I was left with no choice but to make a pit stop.

Unfortunately, though, the North End doesn’t really have too many places with bathrooms. I kept on moving from one bakery to another, willing to pay for any treat just to use the restroom, but to no avail. Eventually, I got to a little café, Café Graffiti, right at the end of the North End. All my options exhausted, I decided to go in and order something.

And, of course, as with all bakeries/cafes in the North End, there always has to be a cannoli involved somewhere. I honestly wasn’t craving a cannoli, but it was one of the cheapest things on the menu, so I decided to give it a shot, along with some more of that delicious Italian soda that had gotten me into trouble in the first place (I guess some people really just don’t learn).

Since I had tried all the supposedly “best” cannolis in the area already, I was almost sure I’d be disappointed by Café Graffiti. I have to admit, though, that the Café impressed me quite a bit, both with the quality of the food and of the setting.

Most of the places you can grab a cannoli at in the North End are small, cramped, and bland beyond belief. Café Graffiti, being a more general eatery, exudes more of a modern, classy, and exciting vibe to it. The decoration is simple, with wooden chairs and plain brick walls, yet Café Graffiti is probably the most modern-looking place in North End (though that’s really not saying much), as it boasts a pretty nice “graffiti wall,” where you can donate some money to the children’s hospital to write up a personal message. Moreover, the seating is spacious and rather comfortable, especially since too many people don’t seem to frequent the café (all of them are probably at Mike’s Pastry, anyway).

Café Graffiti isn’t just a cool place to grab a cup of coffee, though. In fact, it serves up a mean cannoli, too. The cannoli comes with plain ricotta cream, but don’t let the lack of variety fool you about the quality. The cream tastes very fresh. It’s on the gritty side, as fresh ricotta curds are present throughout the cream. I actually prefer that texture, though, because it gives a bit more complexity to the mix, as well as a heavier cheese taste from the curds. The cream is a bit too sweet, very much like that of Mike’s Pastry, but because it is so rich, creamy (even with the grittiness), custard-like, and fresh (i.e. at the proper temperature—it tastes like it has just been taken out of the fridge), it is easy to overlook the over-sweetness.

As for the shell, it too succeeds for the most part. It is on the thick and oily side, so that the extra sweetness really gets overshadowed (in a good way) by the starch and oil. Moreover, it has a really nice crispiness to it, so that every time you bite you get a satisfying crunch. With the powdered sugar, that shell is so good that it tastes like you’re just munching on a sugar cookie. The thickness of the shell only adds to that effect.

As a final note, the shell is filled on the spot, like at Modern Pastry, so it stays fresh and perfectly crispy without becoming soggy at all when you’re eating it.

The one downside is that the shell isn’t very flavorful in itself, so it really doesn’t contribute much to the combo except for its nice texture. Moreover, the shell is just a bit oilier than some of the other shells I had in Boston, leaving an oily aftertaste all over the interior of the mouth.

All in all, then, I’d say Café Graffiti’s cannoli is about on par with Modern Pastry’s, beating Modern in terms of the flavor of the cream but losing in terms of the oiliness of the shell. This cannoli may not be the best or most well-known in Boston, but I can guarantee you one thing: At Café Graffiti not only can you get a fantastic cannoli, but you can also find a rather interesting, comfortable atmosphere, making this café one of the most unique locations in all of the North End.

Scores

Ambience (not factored into overall score): 2.5/5.0. Still the nicest place to grab a cannoli in North End.
Service: N/A
Taste: 4.5/5.0
Value: 4.0/5.0. I’ve forgotten the exact price, but it wasn’t much more expensive than normal for the area. You do get extra ambience and a place to sit.
Overall: 4.2+/5.0