Tomato and goat cheese. Basil and mint. Balsamic and EVOO.
Green salad, red onion, ranch.
Linguine with scampi-style prawns.
This dish evokes fond memories. We were sitting next to a couple of locals at Figs restaurant in Charlestown when it first opened. We struck up a conversation during which they told us that if we wanted good Italian we needed to go to "Tony's Place" in East Boston where "Mary" was cooking. So, we check it out and find that it was on our route to the airport. We scour the block looking for a restaurant and finally spot a small sign "Tony"s" on a seedy storefront. Go in to a drab empty room. From the back toddles a tiny, elderly woman who warmly greets us and tells us to take our choice of booths. No menu. She asks if we want her to cook for us. Sure. Will prawn pasta be okay? Sure. Do we want some wine?? Sure. She brings us two glasses and an unmarked bottle of red. She goes back to the kitchen while we have a little wine. Eventually she brings out two huge plates of prawns and pasta in a garlicky sauce. Divine. When we left, she eyeballed the bottle and charged us a couple of dollars for wine and something equally absurd for our fabulous plates.
So tonight, we raised a glass to Mary and to Tony and to our two fellow diners at Figs who introduced us to this sweet table.
