Near the end of the semester, my food anthro class took a Saturday morning field trip to the North End. We ended up eating lunch together at Antico Forno, a homey red sauce Italian spot. The dining room is small and simple, with some wooden tables and an impressive-looking brick oven in the back. The lunch menu is very straightforward, with a variety of appetizers, pastas, and pizzas. The prices are extremely reasonable, and the portions are quite hefty.
focaccina con caprino - flat aromatic bread topped with mixed greens salad, goat cheese, fresh roasted cherry tomatoes and grilled zucchini - $9.5
gnocchi di patate - homemade potato dumpling baked in a brick oven with plum tomato sauce topped with mozzarella cheese and basil - $11
A wonderful, simple meal. The focaccina was a great starter for the table. The combination of flatbread and goat cheese was delicious, and the zucchini had nice texture and flavor. The accompanying salad was crisp and refreshing. The gnocchi was a deceivingly large portion. I'm typically more of a white sauce guy than a red sauce one, but this tomato sauce was very good. I think Carlo's sauce might still be better, but Antico Forno's version of the dish was quite different mainly because of its trip to the oven, leading to a more potato-ey, cooked through gnocchi. I also had a slice of pizza from someone else (not pictured), and it was great - thin crust with delicious sauce. All in all, a great place for a nice lunch.