Boston Local Custom Tips by Laura_Mexico

I was hosted in Boston by my Italian friends, who happen to have only Italian or Hispanic friends!! Therefore, there was an interesting mix of cultures during our Easter lunch.

First off, for us people of Mexican origin Easter isn't a very important holiday and we don't make special lunches or dinners with family/friends... but this does seem to be a very important tradition in USA, especially on Easter Sunday. So we all grabbed the American tradition and got together for Easter Sunday, preparing a very international menu for the occasion.

The menu included as an entree some smoked and/or dry fish; then we had:

* Pork chops baked and prepared with a special recipe from my Italian friend and home owner;

* Mexican sopes (small corn tortillas slightly "bowl"-shaped so you can put whatever topping you prefer on them) which we prepared with beans, cheese & chorizo (a sort of sausage but more fatty and slightly spicy); these were brought from Chicago by one of my friends' friends, of Mexican origin;

* A special salad prepared with something called "dandelion" (some green leaves which, according to my friends, are very difficult to find and which they can only find at one single shop in Boston);

* And as dessert we ate a special Italian cake called Colomba, which is a soft sweet bread with almonds and crystalized fruit that they prepare in Italy especially for Easter season. We actually purchased the cake in an Italian-products shop in the North End. Oh and of course.... wine! I think at least one of the bottles we drank was Italian too and everyone was satisfied with the flavour and quality of the beverages!

I loved the way all of our cultures got mixed in this special lunch where we all had a great time thanks to our hosts and shared a little bit of our roots! And I even got to eat some Mexican food while away from home, besides of tasting new stuff.... Wonderful people and a wonderful experience!

Grazie! Gracias! Thanks!

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This is a very personal experience, and I can't say it was interacting with Bostonians cause NONE of my friends were originally from this city... However, I do think this BARBECUE thing is very American, and we enjoyed a beautiful spring day -- after a long winter and many rainy & gray days spent in Boston -- having one among friends.

Then it turned out that, after our nice lunch in the open air, my friends organised a nice little party for me right before my departure from Boston and back to Mexico! So this still brings me nice memories of this nice city which I already liked a lot, and I thank my friends for the wonderful experience!!

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