RESTAURANTS > RESTAURANT PROFILES > Maurizio's

Maurizio's
364 Hanover St. (617) 367-1123
Andrew King

On the enchanting island of Sardinia, a warm breeze blows through fields of heather and wild olive, and over a coastline of soaring cliffs and crashing waves. This region of Italy, a haven of white sand and hidden coves surrounded by the sparkling Mediterranean, was profoundly influenced by the cultures of conquering forces from Greece, Rome, Spain and Austria, among others. It has been written that “in Sardinia, there never was one single people but really several peoples” and the same may be said for Boston’s North End. It too has evolved over the centuries, changing with the many faces of those who have called it home. Though Boston may not share many characteristics with Sardinia, with a little imagination on a long, hot, dry summer evening, we may perhaps share the same breeze—at Maurizio’s Ristorante Italiano.

Facets of Boston and Sardinia fuse at this unassuming restaurant. Maurizio and Linda Loddo conjure the spirits from worlds past and offer visitors a more traditional variation of European-Italian classics and thereby a more distinctively Mediterranean experience.

A lovely stained glass cast prisms of light as the sun gently sets across this close-knit neighborhood which slowly re-awakened from its afternoon seista. The dining room is bright and intimate; tables don white linen over pastel linen in shades of robin’s egg blue, sunburst orange, lavender and peach. The open, cove-like kitchen draws your eye to soaring flames; cloudbursts of steam scented with garlic, rosemary and wine; and one intense gentlemen, chef Maurizio himself, tossing pans of pasta, fish, vegetables and sauces. Though you may never physically leave the dining room, your senses will travel to the island described as “a micro-continent of flora, fauna, traditions, costumes and language.”

As there are “a thousand faces of a land to discover” in Sardinia, there are a thousand flavors awaiting you at Maurizio’s. We toasted to summer over glasses of a wine from Sardinia, as bold and striking as the menu itself, and chose melanzane al forno—a roasted eggplant appetizer meshing garlic, basil, scallions, plum tomatoes, parmesan cheese and bread crumbs served within its shell.

Journeying on, we eagerly chose the fettuccine alla rustica—a hearty, vivacious dish appropriately rustic in color and substance, with roasted peppers, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, onions, garlic and herbs in a luscious white wine, extra virgin olive oil and plum tomato sauce, cooked a true al dente.

Our entrees surfaced from the wondrous ocean depths: grilled marinated tuna steak, seared with lemon wedges in a sauce of lemon, capers, extra virgin olive oil, white wine and infused with rosemary. Our second entree revealed in color what the tuna shared in aroma—a pound-and-a-quarter grilled lobster, aside mixed greens and a cool bean salad sparked with cilantro. From corner to corner, our table overflowed with color including à la carte dishes of vibrant broccoli in garlic and olive oil, and garlic mashed potatoes kissed with roasted red pepper.

A sweet, smooth melon sorbet, centered within the cantaloupe shell, added a calm, dreamy quality to our evening. The sun had now set, the streetlights cast their shadows, and the night wind swept in. In Sardinia, the sun, and a new day, was rising.