Bova's Bakery • 1986

The aroma of fresh-baked bread and sugar-dusted cannoli drifts through Boston's North End around the clock at this family-run Italian bakery, founded by Calabrian immigrant Antonio Bova in 1926. Four generations later, the wood-fired ovens still turn out Sicilian pizza, lobster tails, and the legendary cannoli that draw crowds at 3 a.m. just as readily as at noon. Step inside any hour of any day and leave with a white box tied in string, warm bread tucked under your arm.