Too short a visit from Sarah and Jeremy. Great to spend time with the cute couple. Jeremy found the lock on the bathroom useful as his new-found friend, Ella, would follow him around. “Jermy! Jermy! Where are you?”

Found a great trick-or-treat neighborhood down the street on Halloween. Most handed out full-size candy bars in the Plumb family fashion. We had an important pre-trick-or-treat briefing. “Now Ella, grab the Twix and Reeses.” Happy to report she did her job well.

Doug and Annette came to visit! How exciting to have them here in Boston. To get them started we ate at Regina’s, a famous pizzeria in Boston’s North End. A waitress told Mike not to take a picture of their brick oven (trade secret?), but one of the pizza guys said, “Get back here and take a shot.” He told her Mike was just taking a picture of the pizza.

City Search does a good job of describing Regina’s:

[ The Scene

Pie enthusiasts flock to this atmospheric little eatery, on the point of one of the North End’s narrow triangular blocks. Service runs to the slow and impersonal, but that never stops the hordes–area residents, pizza fanatics from the suburbs and in-the-know tourists–from lining up for the addictive specialties, or waiting for takeout in the cozy, cramped bar. Don’t skip the wait just because you can get a slice by the same name in Quincy Market; that takeaway outpost’s pizza disappoints in comparison to the goods offered at this location.

The Food

Go for the obvious: Thin-crust cheese pizza oozing with mozzarella and tangy tomato sauce, all surrounded by a pillowy crust, is a sure winner. Regina’s famous gas-fired brick ovens also churn out consistently satisfying specialty pies, including savory spinach-pesto and white clam varieties. Those hoping for a sweet finish are out of luck, as no dessert is served. ]

We had dessert at another North End spot–Trani–a place that injects ice cream into sundry pastries right in front of your eyes. Mmmm injected pastries.