Boston Food Communities

Support Boston’s Food Communities

written by Margarette Emin Lee | photographed by Chika Okoye designed by Emily Snisarenko When walking through the streets of East Boston, one gets a whiff of the sweet scent from the pandeyucas being prepared in El Peñol Restaurant. Similarly, when walking through the quaint streets of the North End, or waiting in line at Mike’s Pastries, it is impossible not to feel your knees buckling over the delicious aromas coming your way. Boston food communities do not get as much coverage as they need and deserve. Areas like the North End and East Boston thrive because of clusters of restaurants which specialize in certain ethnic foods. These restaurants usually serve food from the owner’s home country and support the stability of the community it is in. These food communities were starved of in-person visits for more than a year and they need all of our help. The key aspect of these communities is the experience that each individual gets when they’re there. There is no substitute for feeling the soft madera table at Tertulias or smelling the Parmesano Reggiano in Giacomo’s. These places need their customers to be there in person because that is how they survive and ultimately thrive. Now that the vaccine is becoming widely available, I implore you to safely support these food communities. Without them, Boston will lose all of its savor.