- 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.