- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner,
this is what I would want.
- It's not as busy as
the place up the road,
which is a lot more
famous and not as good.
That's all I'm gonna say.
Narrator: In a previous video,
Bova's was our pick
for the best cannoli in Boston.
- Three, two, one.
- Bova's!
Same!
- Bova's!
Oh, my goodness.
Without a doubt.
Narrator: We got an inside
look at how Bova's Bakery
puts the heart into its cannoli.
John Kluse: We're in
a unique location.
We're not on Hanover Street.
We're on Salem Street
where a lot of people
that have been
in the area for a while
still come back to.
It's not the exact tourist location.
Narrator: Bova's Bakery
was founded in 1926
by Italian immigrant Antonio Bova.
The shop is covered wall to wall
with Italian food and sweets,
but the cannoli is
by far the top seller.
- My name's Dominic.
I'm a great-grandson
of Antonio Bova.
- I'm John Kluse, great-grandson
of Antonio Bova as well.
You know, Dominic and I
being fourth-generation,
we know how important
a family business is,
still having our
hands in the business.
A lot of businesses may
have name recognition
and may sell out.
Very few people have
actual family members
here on a daily basis.
Narrator: The bakery offers
eight cannoli flavors
ranging from traditional
to new age.
- So what makes our
cannolis the best is
it comes from the heart.
We put passion into our cannolis,
and we're constantly
filling our cannolis
so no matter when you come,
our cannolis are always fresh.
Narrator: This is key
because Bova's Bakery
is open 24 hours.
At night, lines go out the door.
- Ooh, cannolis.
Oh, pardon, mwah!
- Wow.
This is so good.
The traditional filling starts
with a base made
with whole-milk ricotta.
To ensure a smooth consistency,
Dominic makes sure the
sugar is mixed thoroughly
before he adds the whole milk.
I've just had the filling,
and I already know it's
gonna be a great cannoli.
Narrator: The ricotta
filling is separated
to make different cannoli fillings,
like Nutella
and pistachio.
We're getting another taste test.
Pistachio.
That flavor is so nice.
I'm in trouble.
I don't think I'll be
able to pick a favorite
when I try these three later on
'cause the fillings are all so good.
Narrator: Other new cannoli
flavors include crème brûlée.
Cream caramel mixes with
the ricotta filling,
topped with Heath bars.
Dominic: So I think we get a lot
of our cannoli flavor ideas,
I think a lot of it comes
from our help, right?
If they go to the store,
they are picking out flavors
that they like.
So a lot of our help
will make recommendations
and customers will
make recommendations
on flavors that they like.
John: Well, a definitely
unique cannoli
would be the Florentine.
We make our Florentines
with almonds, butter,
sugar, and honey.
Other places will just use a mix
before they make
their Florentine shells.
Ours is 100% from
scratch and hand-rolled.
You're not gonna
find that anywhere else
other than Bova's Bakery.
Man: Now you're gonna fall in
love, I know that for sure.
Our three most popular cannolis
are the Florentine, chocolate
chip, and crème brûlée.
Narrator: Now it was our
turn to try all three.
- This is a working hazard.
- Here, no, no, no.
Oh, my God!
- It's good, right?
- Oh, it's so good!
- Everything that I said
that I wanted to look for
in the perfect cannoli?
Everything is checked.
The shell's super crunchy.
Ricotta filling is super
smooth, and light, and fluffy.
Not too sweet.
Not too grainy.
- They know what
they're doing here.
- Ooh, yeah.
Yeah, this is it.
- This tastes like a
legendary dessert.
She does not mess around.
This thing has some weight to it.
I don't know what
a Florentine shell is.
I assume that it's from Florence...
maybe.
It's French.
It's from France.
Imma do it.
I can't do it.
OK, Imma do it.
This whole time, I've
been taken on a journey
because I've been eating filling
for the past few hours.
I thought every time I
ate a different flavor,
I'd be like, "Oh, this is great."
And then I'll have the next one.
I'd be like, "Oh, this is my favorite."
And now I have the third one,
and I'm gonna definitively tell you
that this is my favorite.
The reason being the
shells on the cannoli,
the regular cannoli shells,
they're more of like a
vessel to hold the filling
and don't really give any
additional flavor profile
other than the crunchy
factor texturally.
This crust, it's sweet. It's nutty.
Boston really knows how
to make their cannolis.
I can tell you that much.
- OK.
This is a little embarrassing,
but I do know we ate like
50 cannolis this week.
And...
- No, two days ago, we
ate about nine cannoli.
- Yeah.
- And then...
- And look where we are right now.
There's Bova's.
And here we are,
going back for more.
