City guide · Massachusetts
Best Sausage and Peppers in Boston
Where is the best sausage and peppers in Boston?
Boston's best sausage and peppers is found at the North End's summer saints' feasts, grilled over charcoal on Hanover Street and finished with vinegar peppers rather than sweet ones.
| City | Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
|---|---|
| Ask for it as | Sausage and peppers |
| Top 100 spots here | 2 |
| Best time to go | August, during the Fisherman's Feast and Saint Anthony's Feast weekends. |
| Local rule | Charcoal, not a flat-top. If the smoke is not visible from the end of the street, walk to the next stand. |
The North End runs a saint's feast almost every weekend in August, and each one puts charcoal grills straight onto the sidewalk. This is the most concentrated sausage-and-peppers fortnight in America outside Mulberry Street.
The Boston signature is vinegar peppers — pickled, sharp, cutting through the fat in a way sweet bells never manage.
Boston on Larry’s Top 100
| Rank | Where | Order this | Larry’s note |
|---|---|---|---|
| #6 | North End sidewalk feasts | Grilled sausage with vinegar peppers | August saints' feasts, charcoal smoke, no chairs. |
| #26 | Boston's Fisherman's Feast | Sausage cart, extra onions | August, North End, elbows out. |
Menus, feast dates and opening hours change. Call ahead before you travel.
How to order it in Boston
- Grilled sausage with vinegar peppers on a sub roll.
- Add onions from the same grill; they are usually cooked in the drippings.
- Eat standing. There are no chairs at a North End feast and there never have been.
The local rule: Charcoal, not a flat-top. If the smoke is not visible from the end of the street, walk to the next stand.
Best time to go: August, during the Fisherman's Feast and Saint Anthony's Feast weekends.
Questions people ask about Boston
Where do you find sausage and peppers in Boston?
The North End feast weekends in August, on and around Hanover and Salem streets. Outside feast season, the North End's Italian butchers sell the sausage to cook at home.
What are vinegar peppers?
Peppers pickled in vinegar and packed in jars. They are sharper than sweet bell peppers and are the Boston standard on a sausage sub.
When are the North End feasts?
Most fall in August, with Saint Anthony's Feast at the end of the month as the largest.
Make it at home instead
You do not need a plane ticket. Larry’s own version takes about forty minutes in a cast-iron pan.
Sausage and peppers in other cities
Elsewhere in USA
Further afield
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