Finding the Best Arancini in Boston pt. 1: Stella
I have talked about my obsession with arancini before, but I have decided to take it to an all new level. My friend Alison & I have compiled an amazing list of restaurants that serve arancini in the Boston area (some outside of Boston…road trip!). We plan on eating our way through that list to determine where to get the best arancini. It is going to be a hard thing to do, but we are determined to struggle through this one restaurant at a time.
The first restaurant we went to was Stella. Stella is a chic Italian restaurant in the South End neighborhood of Boston. I had never been here before, but Alison had and recommended this as our first stop.
We started the night out with some drinks. Alison drank a few glasses of Malbec & I had some Pomegranate Martinis. We also quickly ate all the bread.
The first appetizer we ate was the Crispy Fried Artichoke Hearts with a country mustard remoulade. These were perfectly fried and so light. The country mustard remoulade was a perfect compliment and the best part was the inclusion of capers.
Next came the arancini, the reason for going out in the first place. They were a Parmesan Arancini with buffalo mozzarella served on top of a spicy pomodoro fondue. We may have let them sit a few minutes too long while we were scraping the remoulade off the fried artichoke plate & the bottoms got a little soft. The top of the arancini was crispy and the inside was soft & delicious. We devoured them in a matter of minutes. Only then to reflect on them:
Alison: We should have just ordered arancini.
Me: I know right?
Of course we didn’t just order appetizers. I order the scallop special which was delicious and Alison had gnocchi (I tried hers and they were so good). The older couple sitting very close to us got a pizza and it looked like something sent from heaven. I need to go back and try one of those immediately.
We are debating over which restaurant should be our next stop on the quest for the best arancini, but what we are not debating about is that this might have been our best idea ever.
Where in the Boston area would you go to get the best arancini?
(Steven)
