Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop

Contributor

Citysearch

The Scene
Ben & Jerry's; Cheesecake Factory; Haagen Dazs; Starbucks: What's a Bawlmer institution like Vaccaro's doing in a fluorescent-lit food court like this? Well, reminding discriminating dessert-lovers that the home town's preferred pastry shop (with Italian ice cream to boot) is more than a match for its national competition. The constant influx of tourists at Harborplace merely ensures an increase in sweet-toothed converts.

The Food
Three dessert cases are crammed full of sugar cookies, biscotti, canolli, tortoni, rum cakes, cheesecakes and glistening cassatas. A fourth refrigerated case is filled with frozen treats, such as a dark chocolate-shelled gelato called a tartuffo and an even more exquisite eclair truffle topped with chocolate crunch. Imported goodies from Bellino's maintain old-world authenticity, although out-of-towners should know that locally that's never been called into question.