Why dine here
Every great pastry city needs a rivalry, and the North End's is Mike's versus Modern - a dispute conducted a block apart on Hanover Street with the seriousness Bostonians usually reserve for baseball. Modern, family-run since 1930, is the smaller, quieter partisan choice: cannoli shells filled strictly to order, torrone made in-house, and Italian cookies by the pound. Lines move faster than Mike's on most evenings. The same Muslim-traveler notes apply: desserts are meat-free, with ingredient questions (gelatin, liqueur flavorings) worth asking if strict. The correct Irhal ruling on the rivalry: order one cannoli at each, decide for yourself, and tell no one in the other queue.
